Sleep Away
by GLITTERXGURL
Summary: What's a city girl's worst nightmare? Summer camp. Massie Block is thrust into a disgusting world of bugs, bitchy cabinmates and lumpy beds. Miserable, right? But maybe a certain boy can fix her summer time blues. Massington.
1. Chapter 1

Yay, summer! I am writing this story partially out of my own camp experiences. This story will end in Massington, I promise. Review with other pairing suggestions, pretty please?

Disclaimer: I own nothing except fabulous shoes!

* * *

"Massie, could you come down here please?" I hear my mom call from down the stairs.

I skip down the stairs, hoping that they surprised me with those new shoes I wanted. I bet they did. Sure, they were a thousand and ninety-seven dollars, but they were cute, which made it so worth it!

"Sit down please," my dad instructs, pointing to the couch in front of them. I didn't see any Steve Madden bags.

I sit down gingerly, scanning over the possible reasons I could get in trouble. "What's up?" I ask casually.

"As you know," my mom begins. "Your father and I will be traveling this summer. We're planning on going to Puerto Rica! It's beautiful this time of month and—"

My dad clears his throat.

"Oh, right." My mom sighs "Anyway. You won't be joining us on these trips so we wanted you to have a summer adventure of your own."

Raising an eyebrow, I look at both of my parents. "Like what…?"

My mom looks at my dad, signaling him to go on.

"Well, we don't want you to do nothing here. So we looked up some summer camps—"

"Summer camps?!?" I shriek. "Like…in the _woods_? In cabins infested with mice and bugs? You mean…you mean I have to SHARE a bathroom?!?"

"I'll leave this to you, Kendra," my dad says and leaves the formal sitting room.

"Massie," my mom says, sitting beside me and wrapping a thin arm around me. "This could be good for you. Meet new friends, and cute boys," she winks.

"No."

"No what?" she asks, looking honestly confused.

"No, I will NAWT go to a 'summer camp'. I won't. I'll go visit Auntie Jenna instead. Mommy what did I do to make you punish me like this?!?"

Mom sighs. "Massie, you didn't do anything. It'll be loads of fun."

"No," I shake my head. "I'm not going."

"Too bad for you," mom says, standing up. "You're already signed up. You leave day after tomorrow."

With that, I scream.

* * *

What does one pack to summer camp? See? I'm that much of a city girl to know.

My iPhone beeps, indicating a new text message.

**Kristen: OMG ur going to SUMMER CAMP???**

**Massie: I know, it totally sucks. We wont get to hit all the sample sales AND I'll be stuck in some rundown cabin with a bunch of losers!**

**Kristen: LOL don't worry hon. Text me all the time**

**Massie: Kris there's no cell service there**

I sigh at Kristen's lack of smarts. Even though she's my best friend forever, she isn't very smart. Last year, she asked me how to spell Kristen in French.

**Kristen: Oh. Well then…write letters**

**Massie: :( my summer is gonna suck. Byee xox **

I throw down my phone, praying it lands on my soft bed.

I fire up my iMac, deciding it would be best to research what to bring. I get sidetracked and end up on some website about all the animals that can give you diseases.

Raccoons…I bet they're up in the Adirondacks. Ehmagawd, raccoons can give you rabies?!? Almost every animal and or bug can give me some sort of yucky disease.

Note to self: Pack lots of bug spray…and maze.

I went to sleep that night, having nightmares of camp.

* * *

"Massie," My mom says, shaking me awake. "It's time to wake up. You have a bus to catch in half an hour."

"A what?!?" I shriek, bolting up in bed.

"A bus," my mom explains as Inez picks up my three Louis Vuitton suitcases. "There are a lot of people going from New York, so there's a bus to bring you. Besides, maybe you'll meet a friend on the bus."

"I don't want to make friends on the 'bus'. I have perfectly good friends here in Westchester!"

"You know Kristen isn't a very good example on you with all her drinking and being a whore."

"Mom!" I have never heard my mom call anyone a whore. But I guess she really doesn't like Kristen.

"Besides, Isaac isn't driving you; the bus will be fine. I packed some Gravol so you don't get nauseous."

I'm speechless. Honestly…summer camp…bus…new friends…Ew!

After a super-speedy shower, blow drying my hair and saying good bye to my dog, I walk down the stairs. My parents are waiting at the bottom, proud smiles on their faces. Inez wasn't there; she was loading my suitcases into the bus.

"Here, Massie, you have to put this shirt on," my dad says, handing me a light pink t-shirt that looked five sizes too big.

"Um, why –what's wrong with this shirt?" I ask, pointing at my purple Juicy Couture tank.

"Camp rules," my mom says. "On the day you arrive, and any out of camp trips, you have to wear this."

I hold it up to my torso. Its baby pink, hangs down to mid-thigh, and has CAMP WOOD LAKE in big, black letters.

I will never in a million years wear this. But apparently, my mother has different plans. Before I know what she's doing, it's going over my head –frizzing my hair!!!- and then it's hanging loosely on my toned body.

"Mom," I groan. "Do I HAVE to?"

"Yes," my mom says, kissing my cheek. "Bye, sweetie, write often, okay? We'd LOVE to hear your experiences."

I glare at them. "I'm sure you would." With that, I storm out of the house and run into Inez.

"You have a good time," she says, patting my cheek.

I climb the steps to the bus. A blonde lady chewing on a pen stops me.

"Name?" She asks.

"Massie Block," I look around the bus. Girls are chatting, not even noticing me. That's a first.

"What grade did you just finish?" she asks, writing stuff down.

"Ninth," I say proudly. Next year, I'm in grade ten. I'm so old!

"All right, hop on and find a seat. You will be in the Lion group, and your cabin number is Fifteen."

I nod, and walk further onto the bus.

Damn, I wish I knew someone here. Ehmagawd, what if I'm the girl who sits all alone on the bus, and then no one likes me at camp? There's a girl like that everywhere, and what if I'm her at camp?

Then, a some what pretty girl waves at me. I look behind me to see if she's waving at someone behind me. Nope. I point at me and raise my eyebrows. The girl giggles and nods and beckons me to sit on the empty seat beside her.

I sit, staring at her suspiciously. Could this be a trap? Ehmagawd, I sound like an insecure loser!

"Hi," she chirps. "I'm Skye. You were looking a little lost, do you mind sitting with me?"

"Um, yeah, I don't know anyone. This is actually my first time going to camp. I'm Massie."

"Was that your house?" she looks at my house, getting smaller and smaller as we drive away. A little lump forms in my throat, knowing I won't be home until the end of August.

"Yeah," I say, blinking my tears back in.

"It's nice," she says, then turns back to me. "So how old are you?"

"Fourteen," I say. "Fifteen in September.

"No way, same! I'm the fifteenth, you?" Skye grins.

"September third," I giggle.

"Damn, you're older." Skye pretends to be pissed. I like this girl. She seems…real. Unlike Kristen. Our conversations revolve around the latest Marc Jacobs purse, or her boyfriend, or whether or nawt I should color my hair.

We laugh, and then Skye points to the two girls sitting behind us.

"Massie, this is Kori," the girl is our age, has blonde-ish hair and brown eyes. "And that's Strawberry," she points to a girl with bright red hair and mint green eyes. Her eyes glare at me, daring me to say something about the bad dye job. I don't.

"Nice to meet you," I smile.

After a bit more talking with Skye, I lean against my seat, and fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, loves! Jessie was reading this and was like 'Maggie what is Puerto Rica?' which was when I realized I messed up. I was thinking of doing Costa Rica or Puerto Rico and I guess I got a bit of both…sorry :)

Also, I posted the first chapter on July third and now its August 31st….sorry again.

And special thanks to Krissizzle, who got me off my ass and forced me to write this. Or else she'd go all rawr on me ;)

* * *

"Massie," Skye says, gently shaking my shoulder. "Get up, we're here."

My eyes fly open. I'm at camp? Already? I look out the window and see lots and lots of trees. And a few other buses.

"So…what now?" I ask, totally clueless.

Skye giggles. "How about getting off the bus? Then we'll go find cabin fifteen."

"'Kay," I nod, trying to stay calm. I'm at CAMP. Ugh, I have those nervous butterflies. "Are the cabins like…dirty?"

"Nope," Skye shakes her head. "They're pretty good…bathrooms, bunks and cubby holes."

"Cubby holes?" I ask.

"You know those holes people have in kindergarten? Well we have them to put our clothes in."

"Well they're nawt exactly a walk-in closet, but I'll survive. How big are they?"

"Um…about…two shoe boxes put together?" she estimates.

My jaw drops as we shuffle out of the bus. "How am I supposed fit two YSL trunks and a Louis Vuitton tote both full of clothes into that?!"

"Wow, Mass, you brought a lot," Skye giggles.

"I didn't know what it'd be like so I packed for almost every season," I defend myself.

We step out of the bus, and I see other busses with more kids. "How many people even go to this camp?"

"Way too many to count! But you'll love it! C'mon, let's go find cabin fifteen." Skye grabs her bags and instructs me to do the same.

I put the tote on my shoulder and attempt to push_-slash-_pull my two trunks. Not working so well. Skye is already a yard ahead of me and I'm trying to keep up with her.

"Need help?" A deep voice asks from behind me. I turn around to see the most gorgeous guy ever to walk this planet. Well not really, but it certainly looks like it. "I'm Josh."

"Hi Josh," I smile flirtatiously. I hope I look okay, I was just in a bus –my hair could be all frizzy from the humidity in there! "I'm Massie Block."

He grabs my two trunks and lifts them up. Oh dear god, he is hot. "You certainly don't look like someone who'd go to camp," he half-smiles at me.

"Oh, my parents made me come. Camp –well actually anything at camp: bugs, outdoors, tiny cabins, no cell service- isn't really my thing."

"Ah, so you're a city girl, huh?"

"I guess. But that's what got me here in the first place."

"So what cabin are ya in, city girl?"

"Umm fifteen. Skye Hamilton is in that cabin. I WAS with her, but she just…disappeared."

"Oh, well then we're here."

I look up to see a large green cabin. Two girls –both blondes- are sitting on the porch. There are towels and a lime green bikini hanging up on the railing.

"Oh my gawd, Joshie!" The shorter of the two girls squeals and jumps up. She flies down the stairs and into Josh's arms.

"Claire! It's so good to see you," he says and she stands on her tiptoes to kiss him.

Oh. So Josh and…Claire are together. I guess I should have expected that. I mean, the guy looks like a Greek god.

"Hey, Hotz," the second girl calls, not getting up from her perch on the porch. Perch on the porch! Haha, that sounds _so _cool.

Josh and Claire break apart, and Josh grins at her. "Olivia," he addresses her. "How's tricks?"

"Same old, same old," she shrugs. "You doing soccer as an elective?"

"Of course," Josh says. "And we are SO going to beat you guys this time!"

Olivia just giggles and rolls her sea green eyes. I clear my throat and raise my eyebrows at Josh in an 'introduce me to your friends' type of way.

"Oh, right," Josh laughs. "Guys, this is Massie Block. She's in your cabin. Mass, this is Claire Lyons –my girlfriend- and Olivia Ryan –the greatest soccer player you will ever meet. Besides me of course."

Olivia gives me a friendly wave and a shy smile, but Claire narrows her navy blue eyes at me. I can see the suspicion in her eyes, wondering if I'm a threat to her and Josh's relationship.

"Hi," I grin and wave. "Josh, you can go now," I say, glancing at Claire and silently letting her know I'm not into Josh. Not _anymore_, anyway.

"See you guys later," he says and turns around. "Claire, sit beside me at bonfire tonight?"

"Of course," she sing-songs. As soon as he's gone, she climbs back on the porch. Skye pops her head out the door and says, "Oh, great Massie, you made it!"

She sits down beside Claire and pats the spot beside her. I choose to sit on the railing, across form them instead.

"So…where are you from, Massie?" Olivia asks.

"Westchester, New York," I answer, idly swinging my legs. "You?"

"Vancouver," Olivia grins. "In Canada."

"Claire's from Hollywood," Skye giggles.

"Los Angeles," Claire sticks her tongue out at her. "Actress in training."

"One day," Olivia says, resting her head on Claire's shoulder, "While I'm working at McDonalds, I can tell customers that I know Claire Lyons –the greatest actress in all time."

The three blondes burst into giggles, while I just sit there, feeling left out. They've known each other probably forever, and I just met them. For the first time ever, I know what it's like to be on the outside of an inside joke.

"Hey," Skye says, after she's done laughing. "Is Dyl here yet?"

"I am now, bitches," a new voice says behind me. It's light and bubbly. Skye, Olivia and Claire jump up and run to hug the new girl.

I turn my head, slowly and see the most gorgeous girl, like ever. And that's saying something –the girls I go to school with are drop dead gorgeous.

But this girl –with her high cheek bones, fair and flawless skin, fiery red curls and striking green eyes- makes them look about four years old.

"Who's this?" Her green eyes narrow and she gives me the once over.

"Massie Block," I smile and stick out a hand.

"Dylan Marvil," she ignored my outstretched hand. "Yes, as in the daughter of Merri-Lee Marvil. No autographs, sorry."

Can you say bitch? I hadn't even associated her with Merri-Lee, the host of my mom's favourite talk show: The Daily Grind.

"Dyl, she's in our cabin," Claire says, widening her eyes.

"What?!" Dylan wrinkles her ski slope nose. "But it's always just the four of us."

"Well now it's the five of us," Skye says with a grin. "She's awesome, Dyl, you'll love her."

I hate how they're talking about me as if I'm not even there. Although, it WAS nice of Skye to put in a good word for me.

Dylan just shrugs her small shoulders and sashays into the cabin. The three girls behind her follow, so I jump of the railing and do the same.

Inside the cabin is crowded. There are two sets of wooden bunk beds pressed against the walls and one single bed in the middle of them.

"Well," Dylan says dropping her duffle bags. "Since there's an odd number of us now, I supposed I'll take the single. Sorry Skye, since Newbie's so _awesome, _you can share with her."

I know I'm not that great at reading people, but I can tell this girl hates me. What did I even do to her? I just got to camp!

Olivia and Claire skip over to their bunk and Claire takes the top bunk. I'm kind of hoping for a top bunk, just so I'll be higher than Dylan and can spit on her in her sleep.

"Skye," I turn to her. "Can I have top bunk?"

"Sure," Skye says cheerily. "I'm scared of heights anyway."

As I climb up the wooden ladder and make my bed, I silently wonder what I had done to make Gawd punish me by putting me in the same cabin as Dylan Marvil.


	3. Chapter 3

Oh goodness, I so forgot about this…but I really like it, so I think I'll continue (:

* * *

I'm lying on my newly made bed, talking to Skye, who's sitting right under me. Suddenly, footsteps clomp up the porch stairs.

"Are there more girls in our cabin?" I ask Skye.

"Nope," Skye says, not taking her eyes off the book she's reading. "Hey, have you read _Twilight_? I love it. I wish Bella would die so I would have yummy Edward all to myself."

"Are you reading that _again_?" Dylan laughs from her single. Her sheets are bright purple and fluffy. Everyone's beds are fun and colourful except mine –they're white with light purple lavender flowers on it. I stole them from Inez's room.

The door flies open and a girl with long black hair and huge boobs stands at the door, grinning. "Heyy, girlies! How have your fall-_slash_-winters been? Miss me?"

"Leash!" Each other the girls squeal and jump up to hug the new girl.

She looks a few years older than us, and once again, I feel bummed that everyone knows her, sans me.

"You must be Massie," she breaks away from the girls and comes to my bed. "Nice to meet you," she holds up a deeply tanned hand. "I'm Alicia, you're counselor."

"Uh, hi," I say and shake her hand. "What's a counselor?"

Alicia laughs, and I can't help but notice that her boobs shake. Ew. "Basically, it's the person stupid enough to watch over all of you. I sleep in that room," she points to a small door just beyond Claire and Olivia's bunk, "and I eat lunch and go to General Swim with you."

"Ah," I nod, pretending I know what General Swim is.

Obviously I have a clueless look to my face, because Alicia laughs again and says, "GS is basically just where you get to swim around or tan on the beach."

"Fun," I say, even though it sounds anything but.

"Ready to head out to the dining pavilion? You guys can get a quick supper in before campfire."

I try not to wrinkle my nose because everyone seems actually excited about it.

"Campfire is the _best,_" Olivia tells me as our group walks to the dining hall. "We have it on the first day of camp, and a farewell one on the last day. You get to roast marshmallows and sing songs and—"

"And if you're one of us," says Claire, who's walking a few feet a head of us with Dylan. "You get to sit with the _cutest _boys."

The others laugh and I grin. Now it's starting to sound a little more fun. I glance at Dylan, after Claire turns back around. She walks with her head up and her shoulders back. Her I'm-better-than-you stare would have intimidated me if I weren't alpha back in Westchester.

We're both alphas, so why aren't we total besties?

The dining hall is packed, each long table seating a cabin. Alicia leads us to one by the windows the show the lake.

"This is our table," she tells me, as everyone else has gone to get food. "We sit here breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then you go up there, to the food counter and grab whatever you want. Drink machines are just to the right of it."

Then she's gone, so I walk up beside Skye in the food line. "Is the food good here?" I ask her.

"It's the best," she grins. "Just wait till macaroni day, Lucas makes the best macaroni ever."

She takes a plate of salad, and a chicken breast and fries. I do the same, not really knowing what to do.

Once we're all seated, I notice that Claire isn't here. "What happened to Claire?"

"She's over there," Skye rolled her blue eyes to where Josh was seated, with Claire sitting on his lap. "They're totally inseparable. They started dating when were twelve! And even though Claire lives in LA and Josh lives in Nova Scotia, they've never had long-distance problems."

"Guess what I did this winter?" Dylan says, pushing the attention back to her.

"What!?" Skye and Olivia squeal, knowing that Dylan had probably done something insanely fabulous.

I tune them out and poke my chicken breast around my plate, wishing I was at home.

* * *

We're seated around an enormous bonfire. The sky is so dark and there's gotta be a million stars in the sky. You don't see stars in Westchester.

Claire was right; everyone from Josh's cabin (aka a cabin full of hotties) was sitting squished in with the girls from my cabin.

On my right was Derrick Harrington. He had shaggy blonde hair and dark brown eyes, but he wasn't saying _anything _to me, so I made no move to talk to him.

After three rounds of singing a song about a moose named Martin who spilled his juice, I start to get tired.

Thank god bonfire was winding down. The younger campers went into their cabins, and the rest of us had free time.

People my age had free time till eleven, then we had to be in our bunks. Dylan had led everyone to the dining hall to get cookies, but I had stayed back, choosing instead to sit on the bleachers of the soccer field.

It's not everyday you get to see stars as bright and awesome as these, so I figured I'd just look up at them and relax. Today had been mighty stressful.

"Hey," a voice said behind me.

I whirled around, startled since I though I was alone. Josh stood behind me.

"Mind if I sit down?" he nodded to the rows of empty bleachers.

"Uh, sure, go ahead," I smile as if sitting alone with someone this hot who's also my bunkmate's boyfriend wasn't uncomfortable.

"So bonfire was pretty fun, huh?" he sits beside me.

"Yeah, it actually was," I find myself grinning for real. "I burnt every marshmallow though."

"Next time, sit beside me; I'll make them perfectly for you."

I sigh, wishing I could sit beside him next time. But I know Claire would kill anyone who tried.

"So I never did get to hear why you were sent here," he says glancing down at me.

"My parents decided to go on some fabulous get away, and seeing as I would be all alone all summer, they decided to send me here. And they think it will get me to stop shopping as much."

"Ah," Josh nods. "I thought you were being sent here as punishment for having some wild sexcapades or something."

"Ew, Josh!" I squeal. Giggling, I shove his shoulder so he slides away from me. "No 'wild sexcapades' for me," I say after I'm done laughing. "Just a boring story."

Josh looks at my face, all laughing gone. "I don't think you're boring Massie," he says softly.

"Puh-lease, you don't know me. I swear I'm probably the most boring person you'll meet." This isn't exactly true, but Josh was looking at me the way he _should_ be looking Claire.

"I don't think so," he says, continuing to stare at me. "I've known you for less than twenty-four hours, Massie, but you're the most—"

"JOSH!"

We both turn around and it's only then that I notice how close ours lips were to touching.

"Claire!" His face breaks into a sunny grin as if he wasn't just flirting with me.

"What are you doing?" Claire narrows her navy eyes and glances at us suspiciously. "What are you doing in a dark field, _alone, _with the new girl?"

"I think the real question is," Dylan's silky voice comes out of no where, and then she steps out from behind Claire, cold hatred in her eyes. "What is _Massie _doing out in a dark field alone with Josh?"

"Uh," I stammer. "I was just sitting out here, looking at the stars…you don't really see a lot of stars in Westchester –too much smog and city lights and stuff, you know? Well I guess you wouldn't know, you don't live in Westchester…But Westchester is totally cool! We have a great mall and stuff! I'm sure it's not as great as living in LA or Vancouver but—"

"Are you done?" Dylan glares at me as I realize I was rambling.

"We were just chilling," Josh says. "I came out here looking for you; I though maybe you and Olivia would be out here."

"Oh," Claire says, her face softening slightly. "Well there's still half an hour left of free time…wanna go for a hike?"

From her tone of voice I know they will be doing a little more than just 'hiking'.

"Okay," Josh grins and they walk off hand in hand.

I climb down from the bleachers and start to walk back to the cabin when I hear, "Freeze, new girl."

I turn around to see Dylan glaring at me, arms in front of her chest.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you can't just come into my camp, my _cabin_, acting like you're something great. First you buddy up to Skye, and now you're cozying up with Josh Hotz, Claire's _boyfriend_?"

"It's not like that," I begin, but I'm cut off.

"It's exactly like that," she snaps and brushes past me. "Oh, and New Girl? You might want to watch your back tonight."

* * *

I'm lying in my lumpy bed; every now and then glancing down at Dylan's sleeping form. She looks so peaceful when she's asleep, nothing like the monster I now know her to be. I glance at the clock. 1:42 AM. Just seven more hours then everyone is up...

"Get up, get up, get up!" I hear Alicia shout. "C'mon guys, it's eight o'clock!"

What!? Dammit, I must have fallen asleep. I get up and stretch. Skye and Olivia are walking out the door in their PJs.

"Do we go to breakfast in our pajamas?" I ask Alicia, who's in the bathroom.

"Mhhm, don't bother changing," she says through a mouth full of toothpaste.

I shrug and step down onto the cold, wooden floor to receive the usual glare from Dylan. But nothing. She's quickly applying a glossy cream to her curls, and Claire's spritzing her neck with body spray.

So I quickly step out of the cabin and into the early morning sunshine before they can change their minds about not glaring.

Not only till I get to the dining hall, after passing Josh's cabin's table, is why I realize Dylan and Claire didn't laugh.

I have 'ugly' written out in semi permanent marker on my forehead.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews, even though I hadn't updated in forever. I'm going to try updating regularly.

* * *

That morning, after a deelish breakfast of pancakes (Lucas really is good), we have 'cabin cleanup'.

Before we clean up, I go to the bathroom and scrub my face until its bright red, and all you can see is a faint tracing of the word. But I brush my bangs forward and you can't see it.

"Girls," Alicia says in the bunk room. "Who wrote ugly on Massie's forehead? I know pranks are a big part of our cabin, but not to our own bunkmates. Got it?"

"Got it," they all mumble.

No pranks? Hell no, I am going to get Claire and Dylan back.

I walk back out and Alicia tells us to start clean up. We each spin the chore wheel hung up on the wall, where it lists four chores. One person gets a day off.

I have sweeping and Claire holds the dustpan. I'm tempted to just swing the broom and hit her in the face. Dylan's doing bathroom duty -you do not know how hard it was for me not to laugh!

Skye is dusting the shelves and walls, and Olivia is lucky enough to have a free day.

"So, girls," Alicia says, coming out of the counselor room. "Who's ready to choose their elective?"

"Elective?" I repeat like a moron for what feels like the millionth time.

"An elective is a camp activity we do," Dylan says coolly, coming out of the bathroom. "We each choose two."

"Right," Alicia grins. "This year electives are: Canoeing, Archery, Arts and Crafts, Sailing, Water Sailing—"

"Water what?" I ask.

"You know, when you have a board attached to a sail. And you sail in the wind along the waves," Alicia says.

"Oh. I think I did that in Mexico once," I try to remember.

"Anyway," Alicia glances down at the list. "Rock climbing, Soccer, Basketball, or Hiking. And tennis is mandatory, everyone has to do it," she tells me. "It doesn't count as one of you electives, though."

"Soccer and soccer," Olivia says, swinging her long legs.

"Olivia," Alicia says slowly. "We went over this last year. And the year before. You have to choose two _different _electives."

"Fine," Olivia sticks her tongue out. "Soccer and…basketball! All the hot boys take basketball."

"Oh me too!" Skye shouts. "I'm definitely taking basketball. Besides, Chris plays basketball!" She says with a wink.

"Okay, what else?" Alicia says.

"A&C," she says and goes to sit with Olivia.

"Canoeing," I say. I have always wanted to learn. "And…um, sailing. I might as well work on my tan."

After I say it, I realize that I won't be in anything with Skye or even Olivia. Shit, shit, shit!

Claire's glaring at me from across the room. I mouth the word 'what' at her and she just narrows her dark blue eyes.

"I'll take those too," She says through clenched teeth. "Those are the electives Josh and I always do."

Oh. Oh, shit. To be fair, I didn't know that! But Claire doesn't know I didn't know!

"Me too," Dylan grins at Olivia, and shoots a look at me. Clearly, I will be watched twenty-four/seven.

"Okay, so the here are your schedules," she hands out sheets of paper to everyone after writing away on them.

I scan my piece, full of Alicia's loopy pink script:

8:00 - wake up, breakfast

9:00 – cabin clean up

9:15 – General Swim

10: 45 – snack, 15 minute break

11:00 – Tennis

12:15 – Lunch

12: 45 – 15 minute break

1:00 – Elective 1 (canoeing)

3:00 – Elective 2 (sailing)

5:00 – dinner

6:00 – free time (one hour)

7:00 – night game

9:45 – snack

10:00 – free time (one hour)

11:00 – bed

Gosh, I didn't know we'd be so busy. It all looks really fun though.

"Oh and those of you in canoeing," Alicia says. "Congratulations, you get to escape for three days in two weeks."

"Why?" Dylan asks.

"You guys get to go on a canoe trip for three days!"

"Oh yeah!" Claire grins. "Last year me and Josh canoed together and our instructor let us stay in the same tent."

"You're not doing that again, are you?" Dylan asks her. I can see that she's worried her best friend wont be rooming with her.

Claire shrugged and grabbed her bikini and towel. "Isn't it GS now?"

We all changed into our bathing suits and grabbed towels. I couldn't help ogling Dylan's perfect body as she put her curls up into a bun.

She glanced at me and smirked. I was wearing my black and white Chanel bikini, she had no need to smirk.

"Clearly I'm not the only girl here who knows that style doesn't stop even if you're camping," she nods at my bathing suit. She's wearing a green Missoni bikini that makes her eyes shine. Everyone else is wearing no-name brands and crappy suits.

"Just so you know, though," she says while walking to the door. "Only old women wear Chanel."

But as she sashays out the door after Claire, I can't help but think that there was a hint of approval in her green eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

So I realize this story is being somewhat Mosh-y. I promise that it will end in Massington though. =) Review? By the way, I have nothing against Chanel. I just have to wear Chanel skirts all the time to benefits with my mom, and there always seems to be at least one elderly women wearing a similar skirt ;)

* * *

No one is really doing anything in GS. Some of the boys are out in the water splashing around, some people are sitting in the shade reading, and most of the girls are sprawled out on the beach on towels.

Alicia was off getting us bottles of water, so I held my guard up in case Dylan tried to say something mean without getting busted by Alicia. But she was silent.

"Dyl, you should probably put more sunscreen on," Olivia –who's lying in between me and Dylan- says and passes her the bottle. "You're going to burn."

"True," she sits up and applies the SPF 35 to her bare shoulders and back.

"You're kinda tan," Skye says from the other side of me. "Like…when you just barely toast a marshmallow!"

Dylan laughs and puts the sunscreen away. "I'm going to paint my nails. Anyone else want to?"

She opens the small purse that she had brought down with us reveals a bunch of OPI colors. Wow, this girl brought _nail polish _camping. Even I didn't do that.

"Here girls," Alicia hands bottles of water to us.

I'm getting really hot, so I decide to go in the lake. "I'm going in the water, does anyone want to come?"

No one answers. Finally, Skye says "Uh, okay. I'll come."

"Me too," Olivia stands up. "I need to cool down 'cause I'm way too hawt," she giggles and winks.

The three of us giggle as we make out way down to the water. The lake really is nice. It's huge, with little river things branching off through the forest. And it's a nice navy blue.

Olivia and Skye stay where the water goes to their knees. "I don't want to get my hair wet," Olivia says.

"Fine then," I say. "I'll go by myself. How far can I go out?"

"If you're with a buddy, you can go as far as you want. People always try to swim across the lake, but no one has done it yet."

Well the lake _is _really big. "Well I don't have a buddy," I narrow my eyes. "They're too chicken."

"I'll be your buddy," a deep voice says behind me. I attempt to whirl around (but seriously, I take a while –why does water make everything slower?) and come face-to-face with that blonde guy from last night. Derrick, I think.

"I don't have a buddy either," he shrugs. "My friends are too busy up there," he nods to where Dylan and Claire are surrounded by boys.

"Uh, sure," I say.

We shuffle out, getting deeper. No one says anything and I'm reminded of when I was like ten and hanging out with boys was so awkward.

"Derrick, right?" I ask, just as a way to get him to say _something_.

"Yeah," he mumbles. "I sat beside you last night at the campfire."

"Oh right," I say. "You were the mute who didn't even look at me."

He chuckles and says "Well, I'm shy."

"Oh please," I roll my eyes. "No way _you're_ shy."

"Well I am around pretty girls."

And then things got even more awkward than before. I looked back at the beach, at Olivia giving me a curious look and Skye wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I noticed he was looking another way too. I took that as a chance to check him out.

He is a little taller than me, unlike Josh who's almost a whole foot taller. His golden blond hair is shaggy and in desperate need of a trim…but it looks kinda cute in front of his eyes like that. And his abs are pretty great.

"So…where are you from?" I ask.

"Manhattan," he says. "My dad owns a bunch of hotels and stuff."

"I live in Westchester…we're from the same state!"

He chuckles.

"Uh," I decide to keep the questions rolling as a way to keep the awkward silences away. "Any brothers or sisters?"

"An older sister," he rolls his eyes. "Her name is Sammi. She's really tough of all the girls I bring home. That's probably the reason I'm single."

I ignore the little flutter my stomach got when he said he was single.

"What about you?"

"No siblings. And most of the time no parents, either. They tend to go on vacations a lot. Sans me."

"That's harsh. My parents are rarely home too. My dad is always in some other state, trying to get more of his hotels put up there. And when he is home, he constantly has his blue tooth on. And my mom is who knows where."

I'm about to ask another question when I realize I'm under water. What the hell! I try to find the bottom of the lake, but it goes on forever, getting colder and darker.

Then two –very strong, I might add- arms lift me up out of the water.

"Sorry, I guess I should have warned you that the lake drops off there. It's way over our heads for the rest of the lake."

I cough up a lot of lake water (what if someone peed?!) and wring it out of my hair. "Thanks," I say.

"General Swim is now over!" A lifeguard with a microphone yells. "Please leave that water and return to your cabins! Thank you!"

Derrick walks with me to where the girls from my cabin are standing. I pick up my towel, shake the sand off and wrap it around my body.

"Uh, wanna go get a snack with me?" He shuffles in the sand.

"Sure," I grin.

"Derrick!" Josh shouts! "C'mon! Let's go hijack the extra cookies for tonight!"

"Uh, let's take a rain check on the snacks," I say. "What's tonight?"

"Super secret party. It's…well ask Skye, she knows where. Make sure you keep it a secret! It's at midnight tonight so do not wake up Alicia."

"Who's all going?" I ask, feeling somewhat uneasy and afraid I'll get in trouble.

"Probably just our cabins. Maybe one more. And don't worry; we've been doing it since we were twelve."

I'm about to walk to the dining hall to get a snack when I hear Dylan come up behind me. "So now you're getting closer to Derrick Harrington too?" I meet her gaze, not willing to crumble. "Bad, bad move."

"Why? Is he Claire's property, too?"

"No," she narrows her vibrant eyes at me. "He's Skye's ex boyfriend. He broke up with her last year. I'm sure you wouldn't want to lose your _only _friend."

Shit. "Skye's over him," I say. "She told me I could hang out with him last night," I lie.

Her eyes widen slightly in surprise. I notice we're the only people still on the beach.

"Oh and Dylan, the word 'ugly' written on my forehead was _so _original. And just so you know, I bite back."

With that, I walk towards the dining hall, leaving a very pissed Dylan on the beach.

* * *

Tennis is horrible. Claire and Josh paired off and went to play against Josh's friends. I was with Skye, and Dylan and Olivia were together.

We had to play against them. And let me just say, Dylan has _very _good aim.

"Oops," she calls out brightly for the umpteenth time. "Sorry Massie!"

I roll my eyes as Skye helps me up.

"You want some ice for your nose?" she asks. "It's really swollen."

"Nah," I say, poking my nose gently. "I don't think anything is broken."

This time, it's my serve. I toss the ball in the air and hit it hard with my racket. It flies straight towards Dylan, along with my racket that 'accidentally' slipped out of my hand. They both hit her.

"What the hell!" She shrieks.

"Sorry," I try to look sincere. I'm pretty sure my smirk gives me away though.

After more back and forth between me and Dylan with Olivia and Skye looking frightened, it's lunch.

I scarf down my grilled cheese, hoping to get outside.

"Wow, Massie, you seem hungry," Alicia looks down at my now empty plate.

"Oh, uh, yeah. All that tennis really does that to me."

"Well you can head back to the cabin now if you—"

"Thanks," I get up and bolt out of the dining hall.

Once outside, I decide to look around the woods, trying to find my new friend. "Here, little guy…where are you hiding?"

Not caring about the bugs and other crap that can get on my bare knees, I get down onto my hands and knees, searching under bushes.

After about twenty minutes, I see a black and white tail. Perfect. I take the crust of my grilled cheese out of my pocket and hold it out to him.

"Come here, Skunkey… come on…look it's food! I'm not gonna hurt you," I murmur, trying to get the skunk to hop into my arms and not spray me.

Finally, his little nose finds his way towards my crust. Without thinking, I reach over and grab him. He doesn't spray me, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hey little guy, you're kinda cute," I scratch his ear while he nibbles my crust. Trying not to jostle him, I run back to the cabin. Thankfully, it's still empty.

Dylan's cubby hole is over filled, much like mine. "Go on Skunkey, do your stuff." I push him into her cubby.

When he doesn't spray, I decide to scare him into it. Standing a good distance away so I don't get hit, I throw a ball of socks towards him. It hits him and he hisses, and instantly the room stinks.

No green gas comes out of his ass like it does in the movies though. Too bad, that would have been cool.

I hear the girls talking so I run out the back door and around to the front, where everyone is heading up the porch stairs.

"Hey," I force a grin. "I was just taking a walk and letting my food digest."

Olivia is the first one in the cabin. Her button nose wrinkles and her eyes water. "Ew, what is that _smell_?!"

Then Skunkey trots out, his tail in the air.

"Ohmigod a _skunk _was in here!" Skye shrieks.

"Oh gross, the smell is coming from the cubbies," Olivia leads us all there.

We each sniff our own cubby, but it's clear the smell is coming from Dylan's.

She looks close to tears. "All of my clothes smell like shit!"

"Really Dylan," I smirk, leaning against my stink-free cubby. "I wonder why the skunk chose _your _cubby."

Her eyes narrow when she looks at me. "Neither do I, but I can tell you one thing: That skunk is going to be so fucking sorry."


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks again for the reviews! I love you all :) Updates will probably be a wee bit slower, I'm so sorry. School is just…well, a bitch.

Oh and to al-tothe-ex for the fabulous idea!!! :D

* * *

"So what's with this party I keep hearing about?" I ask Skye while we quickly get ready for our first elective.

She glances around the room for Alicia, who is already in the Counselor's Lounge, thankful for the break from us. "It's in the woods tonight. Our cabin and Derrick's cabin have been doing it since we were like twelve. Before, we would just hang out there and sneak bags of chips and soda and crap, but now we sneak beer. I think that's wear Josh and Claire first hooked up."

"Yes, it is!!!!" Claire shouts from somewhere in the bathroom, where she's changing into her bathing suit for canoeing.

I say bye to Skye and head out the door. Okay, if I were a canoeer (what's a person called when they canoe?!), where would I be?

"Lost?" I hear a deep voice behind me. I secretly hope it's Derrick, but instead I turn around to see Josh, as breathtakingly handsome as ever.

"A little," I admit. "Trying to find canoeing."

"You're doing canoeing? Me too," he grins.

"So I've heard," I mumble as we start walking.

"Claire told you?" He chuckles. "Don't mind her; she's a little jealous if I talk to other girls."

"Well you're dating," I remind him. "She has a right to be."

"Yeah, we've been dating for so long…I just don't know if I can do it anymore. She lives so far away and then she gets to jealous if I so much as look at another girl."

"Girls are complex," I shrug. I don't know why I'm defending Claire –the girl wrote _ugly _in a permanent marker on my face! But I don't want to fight with Claire. It's Dylan that is going to go down.

"That's for sure."

"Joshie!" Claire squeals, and I hear the thwacking of flip flops against the dirt road. "Chris is chaperoning the canoe trip again! That means we can camp together," she says, wrapping her hand around his with a big grin.

He grins too, and I try to find any signs that he was going to break up with her. Then Claire notices me. Her eyes narrow. "Unless you wanted to be with Maysie."

"Massie," I say automatically.

"Bear, me and Massie are just friends. You know the only girl I have eyes for is you." The two of them walk ahead of me down to the beach.

I try to keep the WTF look off my face. Was he not just telling me that he was thinking of dumping her?! What's wrong with this boy?!

"There's something off with Josh this summer," I recognize Dylan's voice behind me.

I turn around and am literally surprised to see that she's talking to me. I shrug. "How?"

"I dunno, he's just…" She then comes back to reality and realizes she's talking to me. She flips her curls and sashays ahead of me down to the beach.

There are about eight of us in canoeing; three boys and five girls. I recognize the only girl not from my cabin as one of the girls from the bus.

The instructor (Claire said his name was Chris?) is teaching us the proper technique on how to hold a paddle. Seriously, it isn't that challenging.

"Okay, so who's ready to actually get in the water now?" he grins. "Partners of two: Claire and Josh; Kemp and Danny; Layne and Aimee, and Massie and Dylan."

My mouth drops, and Dylan scowls at Chris. Of course, I'm paired with my arch enemy.

"Uh, Chris?" I raise my hand. "Is there anyway I can switch part—"

"Massie," Chris says patiently. "I know this is your first year at camp, but just know that what I say is the law. No switching, sorry." Then, as if to make things worse, he says "And these will be your partners for our canoe trip!"

The kids woo-hoo, but my stomach drops.

I glance at Dylan, only to see that she's picking at her cuticles. Then she looks up and meets my gaze. I can tell she doesn't want this either, but she's clearly not freaking out like me.

"Okay, INTO THE CANOES!" Chris shouts, and everyone runs to get the best canoes. Except me and Dylan.

I use the posture that's usually reserved for school, and with a sneer at Dylan, I march to the canoes.

Dylan trails behind me, talking with Chris.

"Sorry Dyl," I hear him say. "No changes."

With a huff, Dylan stomps away from him and past me to the canoes. I quickly follow and we push our orange canoe into the water.

"Here ya go," Chris hands us two bright yellow, puffy and ridiculously ugly life jackets. I wrinkle my nose as I clasp it across my chest.

"Ew, these are hideous," Dylan glares at the jacket. "Don't they come in, like, white or something not _neon_?"

I nod, even though I hate to agree with Dylan. "They _match the canoe_."

Chris looks uncomfortable and squirms under Dylan's and my intense glares. "Well, uh, they don't make white ones…but I might be able to get you black ones."

Dylan sniffs. "Well I suppose that would be better than this." She tosses him the jacket, and I unclip mine and do the same. "Hurry."

Chris scrambles into the water supplies shed.

Danny Robbins and Kemp Hurley exchange a look then look at us. "Whoa," Kemp says. "Massie, you're like a duplicate of Dylan."

"Ha!" Dylan scoffs. I roll my eyes.

But Danny shakes his head and smirks. "Even if you don't wanna admit it, you guys are like completely the same!"

"You can sit in the front," Dylan sneers.

"Whatever," I mumble and strap on my black lifejacket. The canoe bobs unsteadily in the water and I place one foot in, wobbling as I do so. I glare up at Dylan. "The least you can do is hold it steady for me while I get it."

"Um, no thanks," She snaps.

I somehow make it into the canoe (dry, thank god) and wait for Dylan to get in. After Chris pushes us away from the shore, we paddle out to the middle of the lake.

It really is beautiful. The lake is dark blue and incredibly smooth, save for the tiny ripples that are coming from our canoe. The birds are singing, the canoers are canoeing and—

"AH!" I screech is freezing cold lake water hits my neck. I whirl around and glare at Dylan, whose eyes are wide with faux innocence.

"Oopsie," she shrugs.

As we begin paddling again, I feel droplets of the cold water hitting my neck. Well then. I jerk my paddle into the water, sending a spray of cold water straight towards Dylan. Another bigger splash hits me in the face. Using all of my strength, I swing the paddle backwards, noticing how it feels like it doesn't hit the water.

"OWW!" Dylan screams. "MY NOSE! YOU BITCH!"

I turn around, my eyes wide with _real _innocence. "Shit, sorry, Dylan, I didn't mean to hit you I just—"

She leans over and pushes me out of the canoe. I hit the water with a loud smack that causes the other canoers to look over at us.

"What is your problem?!" I shriek when I resurface.

"YOU!" She's still holding her swollen nose. At least now she knows how my nose felt after tennis.

I kick the canoe which makes it sway from side to side. Then I swim back to shore, ignoring everyone's wide eyed glances.

"Uh, Massie," Chris says when I grab my towel and start heading towards my towel. "You can't go back—"

"I am in a really bad mood," I say through clenched teeth. "Do you really wanna piss me off anymore?"

"Uh, no."

"Then I'm going back to my cabin. And give Dylan a message for me: She's going down."

* * *

When I returned to the cabin, I was so glad to find it empty. I changed out of my wet bikini and put on a dry one for sailing. Then I rummaged through my laundry bag and found my cell phone.

Technically, cells weren't allowed, but I –and apparently everyone else- sneaked it. I saw Skye hide hers' in an empty deodorant can, and Olivia kept hers' in her pillow case.

**massie: **heey hows UR summer? txt me back asap i don't have a lot of time!

A few minutes later, a text from Kristen appears in my inbox.

**kristen: **summer = AHMAZING! remember cute waiter at high hills ? his number is mine!! hows uh camp?

**massie: **good for the most part! but majorly bitchy girl in cabin! alpha material yet we aren't friends…she's kinda ruining things for me! wanna be back in Westchester buying a new marc jacobs tote!!

**kristen: **good luck camp g2g cute waiter is here! Byeee

With a sigh, I turn my phone off and toss it back into my laundry bag.

The sound of girls' chatter turns my attention to the door. Guess it was second elective time. Great, sailing with Dylan and Claire.

They file in with Alicia right behind them. The girls in water electives go to get changed and everyone else sits down for a few minutes.

"Hurry, girls, you don't want to be late," Alicia says and glances at me. "Why were you here?"

"Uh, I had some issues," I mumble.

Skye and Olivia head out the door to their electives, and I'm about to follow Dylan and Claire out the door when Alicia says "Actually, Dylan and Massie, I'd like you to stay here. They'll meet you at sailing, Claire. Tell the instructor they'll be late."

I shuffle back into the cabin, looking down at my manicured feet. Dylan does the same.

"What you girls have done is simply unacceptable. And today's only the _second _day of camp. What will you be doing by the second month? Burning each other's clothes?

"I don't know what you have against each other, you _just met_! So while you were at your first elective, I get a call from a panicked Chris, saying that you got into a fight in the middle of the lake a then Massie stormed off."

"She hit me in the nose with her paddle!" Dylan screeches.

"Because you hit me in the nose a million times with your tennis ball!" I cross my arms.

"ENOUGH!" Alicia glares at the both of us. "You will be working in the dish pit, washing dishes, _together, _after every meal for the next week."

"What about my nails?!" Dylan shrieks.

"You should have thought about them before you started this mess. And if you fight anymore, you'll add another week to that. And after that, if you're still fighting, you will be sent home."

"Sent home?!" I ask incredulously. "Alicia, that's not fair—"

"I don't care." She shrugs. "You both asked for it. Now go to sailing. And don't fight. I'll show you guys wear you'll be working for a week after lunch."


	7. Chapter 7

Just to let you all know…I am a very big fan of long, long, long, reviews! It'd be appreciated if you would say more than just 'update' once in a while (:

Oh, and I don't know about you, but I (and probably a lot of other authors) hate it when someone alerts, but doesn't review. If you like my story enough to alert, would it kill you to review as well? I apologize if it sounds like I'm bitchmoaning, but I'm a wee bit of a review whore :)

Btw, (gosh this is a loooong AN!!!) I'm sorry for the late update. Writing a new story, if that makes up for it!!

* * *

"So here's the gloves, the hairnets, and the aprons," Alicia points to a cupboard full of things my maid, Inez, would wear while cleaning the bathrooms. "This will take time out of your free time, so better hurry."

As soon as Alicia's out the doors of the dining hall, Dylan and I are scowling at each other.

"This is so your fault," she huffs. "If you hadn't hit my nose—"

"For the last time: That was an accident! I honestly didn't mean to like break your nose!"

"Whatever!" She stomps to the cupboard and picks out an apron and hair net. "Uh, do we actually have to wear the hairnet…?" She cringes at the fabric pile in her palm.

I touch my hair protectively. "It's not like we're _cooking _the food. It doesn't matter if hair gets in the dishwater, no one's going to drink that."

She giggles, much to my surprise. I pull on the yellow gloves (cringing as I do so) and tie the apron. When I walk past her to grab soap, she laughs even harder.

"You look like a school bus!" She exclaims in between giggles.

I glance at my warped reflection in a pot hanging above the stove. In my yellow gloves and yellow apron, I do look a bit like a school bus. I giggle along.

"Well you look like a…" I try to think of something that's dark blue, since she nabbed the only non-neon outfit. "A hippopotamus!"

We laugh even harder. "Hippos are pink and grey, dumbass," she giggles, wiping her eyes and sending brown mascara down her temple.

We giggle again, until someone clears their throat. For a second I'm scared it's Alicia, catching us not cleaning.

But it's Claire, glaring at both of us with her eyebrows raised. "What's going on here?"

"Leash forced us to wash dishes for the next week for fighting," Dylan rolls her eyes.

"I know," she snaps. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Dylan and I mutter at the same time.

Claire glances suspiciously between us one more time, before looking at Dylan. "If you're done soon, come meet me before the night game."

"'Kay," Dylan sighs, scrubbing a plate.

I quietly do the same, glancing out of the corner of my eye at Dylan. With a sigh, I scrub harder, hoping to get out of the kitchen soon. It's a little claustrophobic now.

* * *

After an intense game of capture the flag (Boys won against the girls, but it was the funnest thing I've ever done), there's freetime.

The boys are nowhere to be seen ("sneaking supplies for tonight," Skye told me), so us girls decide to just stay in the cabin, snacking on Skye's endless supply of M&M's and chatting.

Claire and Dylan are on Dylan's bed, whispering, but Olivia has ventured onto my bunk with Skye. She catches me staring at her and offers me a half smile, her lips tinted with blue dye from the M&M's.

"So where did you say you were from?" She asks, closing the _Us Weekly _in her lap.

"Westchester," I say through a mouthful of candy. And I don't feel the pressure of having to be perfectly poised like I do with Kristen.

"I bet you have great shopping there," Olivia grins.

"Pretty good, yeah. What's Vancouver like?"

"Rainy, mostly," her lips form a slight pout. "And really busy. The rain's okay, I guess, but it's hard to play soccer. And my hair gets frizzy."

"But remember when we all came up for spring break?" Claire looks up from Dylan's bed.

Skye giggles at the memory and Dylan grins. "Ah, yes, yours and Josh's infamous kiss in the rain."

With a smile, Claire and Dylan turn back to playing Poker. Alicia walks into the cabin, her long raven hair braided into pigtails.

"Come on girls, lights out." She yawns. "It's only the first official day of camp, and I'm already pooped."

Skye winks at me before she and Olivia crawl down the ladder. I snuggle under my blankets, trying hard not to fall asleep. I'm pretty tired too.

I'm lightly dozing when I feel someone poke me in the arm. "Massie, wake up," Skye whispers.

"If she's asleep let's just leave her. No one wants her here anyway," Claire whisper-snaps.

I open my eyes and glance at the clock. 11:45 pm. "C'mon," Olivia says. "We only have fifteen minutes to get ready before we find the spot."

I pull on my comfiest pair of black short shorts and a light purple tank top, then glance around the room. Everyone is already dressed. Dylan's spritzing her curls with a glossing spray, Claire is applying mascara, Olivia is running a brush through her hair and Skye is waiting by the door, tapping her foot impatiently.

Once everyone is ready, we sneak out of the cabin, being careful not to let it creak. Once it shuts, we start running towards the forest, holding in giggles. For the first time since I got to camp, we're all acting like real friends.

Skye is the only one smart enough to bring a flashlight, so she leads us to a little clearing in the woods. The guys from Derrick's cabin are already there: Josh and Kemp are trying to build a fire, Danny is sitting on a log, drinking from a bottle of beer, and Derrick is looking through our group of breathless, giggling girls, and when he sees me, he grins.

"Hey," he walks over to me.

"Hey," I smile, somewhat shyly.

Josh and Claire are now sitting together, off in their own world, leaving Kemp and Dylan to flirt while they make a fire. Olivia and Skye are sitting with Danny, teasing him about something that happened last year at the 'party'.

"Wanna get out of here?" Derrick asks, looking around too.

"I just got here," I say. "But sure," because, honestly, I'd love to just hang out with Derrick.

He grabs some cookies and shyly hands me one. I smile my thanks and follow him out of the clearing.

"I don't really drink," he shrugs.

"Me neither. So where are we going?"

"I dunno, I though we could go down to the beach or something."

"Isn't that against the rules? Being at the beach after hours?"

Derrick smirks. "You've already broken the rules by sneaking out and being in the woods."

I roll my eyes and hip bump him. "Shut up, I would still be in bed if it weren't for you bringing it up today."

He flashes me a teasing smile, and his eyes sparkle in the light of the moon. "You really would have missed the chance to see me?"

I fail to think of a good comeback, so I stay silent and blush (thank god it's dark out!). I think I'd do a lot just to see Derrick.

We walk in silence down to the beach. I thought the lake had looked beautiful in the day, but at night it looked so much prettier.

The moon was full and bright and cast a glow on everything. The lake was dark and still, save for the tiny little ripples that appeared when I minnow jumped.

"It's so nice at night, isn't it?" Derrick asks, as if reading my mind.

"Yeah," I breathe. "It's gorgeous."

He casually takes my hand in his, and I blush. Looking at him in the moonlight, I can see he's slightly blushing too.

We walk, hands still intertwined, to the slightly bobbing dock. Without thinking about ruining my shorts, I sit down and swing my legs in the cool water.

Derrick sits beside me. "So…"

I half smile, thinking of when I was in sixth grade, when talking to boys was still incredibly awkward. I like that with Derrick though, that things are still goofy and awkward. I don't want to rush into things and ruin them.

"So," I sigh.

"I'm glad I met you," he says so softly that I strained to hear him.

"Me too," I smile softly. To think that I didn't want to come to camp at first.

He takes my hand again, and this time I don't blush. Instead, I gently squeeze his hand, and he squeezes back. And then we sit there for the rest of the night, watching as the moon disappears and the sun comes up.


	8. Chapter 8

I love you all.

* * *

At around four-ish in the morning, Olivia stumbles out of the woods, looking around for us.

"There you are!" she grins very drunkenly. "C'mon, everyone's heading in," her words were beginning to slur.

"Little too much to drink?" Derrick asks with a teasing smile.

"I dunno," Olivia's beautiful eyes are glassy. Then she looks at us –_really_ looks at us- getting up from the dock, and she crinkles her brows. "Wait a sec…what are y'all doing here…like together…like…alone?"

"Uh, the smoke was hurting my eyes," I say, hoping Olivia's too intoxicated to remember that the fire hadn't even started when we left. "Derrick was nice enough to ditch and come with me."

She nods and shoos Derrick away. "Bye," I say softly as he heads to his cabin.

He grins. "See you tomorrow? Maybe we can go for a hike."

Olivia's already stumbling towards our cabin, so I grin too and say "Sure."

When me and Olivia walk up to the cabin, Dylan, Claire and Skye are standing on the porch. Skye's eyes are kinda red; the smoke must have actually been stinging her eyes.

"Ready?" Dylan takes a deep breath. "Everyone be as quiet as possible." She places a manicured hand on the doorknob, but then it's ripped out of her grasp as it flies open.

Alicia is standing in front of us, wide awake and arms crossed.

"Uh," Dylan fumbles to think of an excuse as to why we're out here, and why Olivia's leaning on Claire for support. And why most of us reek of beer.

"You're not going to be able to lie your way out of this one," Alicia snarls –literally _snarls_. "If I have any say in your punishment, you will all be going home. And will never be returning."

* * *

We find ourselves in the Big House, aka the place where you go if you're sick/hurt/in serious shit. We're all crammed on a wooden bench: Olivia sipping a cup of coffee that Alicia had shoved at her; Skye rubbing her eyes and sniffling; Claire chewing her fingernails; Dylan looking bored, and me glancing around, praying they wouldn't send us home.

After a few seconds, Alicia, Chris, and the head counselor Landon walk in. Landon's handsome in an older guy away, but he has nothing on Derrick.

Derrick. My heart sinks a little when I think that I won't be able to go on that hike with him tomorrow. I'll be on my way back to Westchester. Shit.

"So, what happened?" Landon yawns, sitting on the bench in front of us. Alicia and Chris sit on either side of us. Alicia looks like she could murder us, while Landon and Chris look like they want to go back to sleep.

When none of us speak, Alicia stands up. "_I'll _tell you what happened," she spits angrily. "I had heard a commotion outside of my room at around twelve, but I had stupidly assumed one was just having troubles falling asleep. Then when I woke up to go to the washroom at three-thirty, I walk out to find a completely empty cabin, smelling like Olivia's Marc Jacobs perfume."

Olivia gulps, and I notice she's a lot more sober than she had been a little while ago. We're all pale, and I can only imagine how much none of them want to leave. They've come here for years; I've only been here for a few days and I'm distraught at the thought of leaving.

"So…" Landon blinks a few times. "They sneaked out?"

"Yes," Alicia glares at us.

Dylan opens her mouth to say something, but Alicia cuts her off. "Don't you dare say anything, Miss Marvil. Or your ass will be out of here faster than anyone else."

"Alicia!" Chris looks shocked that she'd speak to anyone that way.

Alicia huffs and drops onto the bench, continuing to glare at us.

"Well," Landon scratches his neck. He glances at Dylan, who's now glaring right back at Alicia. "This _does _sound bad. Really bad."

"Exactly," Alicia smirks. "Which is why I think they deserve to be sent home, and to be banned from this camp. They're horrible influences on the younger campers, and even campers their age and older. Olivia absolutely _reeked _of alcohol."

Olivia's lower lip trembles and her wide eyes fill with tears. She grabs my hand and clutches it hard, and no tears fall.

"Banned?" Claire says, her voice barely audible. "Like…we can never return?"

"Yes," Alicia snaps. "That's generally what 'banned' means. Maybe all that beer killed the few brain cells you had."

"Alicia!" Chris says again, a look of outrage on his face. "You don't talk to people like that!"

"These are hardly 'people', Chris!" She barks out a laugh. "These girls are like delinquents!"

I have never felt so much rage that I wanted to slap someone. I do now though. Where does Alicia get off calling us names? She's acting like a fucking child!

Chris peeks at us over the tops of his glasses. I can see that he's starting to see what Alicia sees. Shit, I was counting on him to get us out of this.

"Was anyone else involved?" Landon asks us. "Did anyone attend this 'party'?"

I shake my head and answer for everyone. "No, it was just us."

"I guess I have no choice," Landon mumbles. "What you five did was simply immature and incredibly stupid. I'm sorry, but you'll have to be sent home. And, like Alicia said, banned."

"Landon!" I cry and jump up.

"Sit down," Alicia threatens through clenched teeth. "Or I'll call the police."

"How can you call the police on someone who's _standing up_?! And someone who's got enough balls to tell you all how completely unfair this is?!" Dylan surprises me by shouting at Alicia.

"I can call the police and tell them about the underage drinking that was going on here," Alicia says, her voice like steel. She's glaring at me and Dylan with what I can only guess as pure hatred.

"Yeah?" I challenge, glancing at Dylan. The slight approval in her eyes makes me keep going. "What about when we tell the police that _you _were supposed to be watching us? We were in your care, after all."

Alicia blanches. Dylan smirks at her face. "That doesn't sound too good on your part now, does it?"

"Enough!" Landon interrupts before Alicia can say anything. "It's four in the morning. You will all return to your cabin and sleep until seven. Then pack your bags and return to the Big House. You'll call your parents and then you will leave the premises."

At this point, Skye and Claire are bawling into each other's shoulders and Olivia is hiccupping from the sobs that she'd cried on the way over. Dylan and I stay dry eyed and stoned face, knowing that no alpha would ever cry in public.

The walk back is silent, save for Skye and Claire's sniffling. Alicia's several paces ahead of us, swearing at us under her breath.

"How old is Landon?" I ask Olivia.

"Just turned twenty," Dylan answers, since Olivia has started to cry again.

"See? He knows what it's like to be a stupid fifteen year old! He knows how immature we can be! How can he do this?!"

Dylan shrugs her thin shoulders sadly. "I dunno…I thought that maybe…maybe I could—"

She breaks off mid sentence, and glances up at Alicia. We trickle into our cabin, one at a time and climb into our beds without bothering to get changed.

The door to Alicia's room slams shut, and I see Claire flinch.

"Is this really happening?" She asks softly.

"Yes," Dylan says. I can just make out her silhouette wiping at her eyes. "I can't believe how Alicia was looking at us. Like she could kill us."

"I know," Skye mumbles from beneath my bed. "If you or Massie ever run into her outside of camp -away from people who could fire her-, I swear she's going to slap you."

Dylan giggles. "Child abuse."

"Seriously though," Olivia says. "Was it just me or was she particularly mad at Dyl?"

"No, I didn't see it," Dylan dismisses it quickly.

"No more bonfires," Skye says sadly. "Or hikes during free time."

"No more delish camp food," Olivia mumbles.

"No more Josh," Claire sobs.

"No more 'best summer of my life'," I whisper to myself.

"No more camp," Dylan concludes, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

And on that positive note, I drift into sleep.

* * *

"GET UP!" Alicia shrieks, causing Skye to roll off of her bed and everyone else to sit up.

She's tossing stuff out of our cubby holes, not caring whether or not they hit the dirty floor or get mixed up with other people's clothes.

"What the fuck?!" Dylan screeches. "Did you know that you're getting floor dirt on my _clothes_?!"

"Don't you dare speak to me," Alicia says coldly. "You're a lying little slut so get your shit together and get out."

I swear all of our jaws drop. We scramble to get our stuff together, and then leave the cabin. Olivia, Claire and Skye are sobbing again. Dylan is still wide eyed at what Alicia had said.

As we cross the fields to get to the Big House, I see Derrick jogging towards us, a huge grin on his face. "Hey, I was just coming to find you! Ready for our…hey, what's with the bags?"

I look down at my bags and then up at him. It breaks my heart to think that I won't get to spend my summer with Derrick. It only took a day but I was already falling for him. "We got caught last night," I say, my voice thick with tears. "We're getting kicked out. For good."

Derrick's jaw drops. "No way," he glances at the rest of the group. Now, even Dylan is wiping her eyes and sniffling. "I'll make them change their minds and—"

"What's done is done," Dylan says, sound very small and not like the mega bitch I know she is. "They've already made their decision."

Without thinking about what Derrick will think, only thinking of how this will be the last time I see him, I wrap my arms around him and mumble "I could use a hug."

Derrick puts his very strong and very comforting arms around me. "I wish this was happening to me instead of you guys."

Claire starts sobbing again, when Josh comes over to see what the fuss is about. His arm is wrapped protectively around Claire and he's glaring at the Big House. "No way are we letting the only girls at camp leave."

Skye giggles through her tears. "We're not the only girls. There're tons more."

"Yeah," Derrick says shyly and looks at me. "But you're the only ones who matter."

We all trudge towards the Big House. Dylan and I are full on crying now, along with everyone else. Even Josh looks a little misty-eyed.

Once in there, Dylan boldly knocks on one of the doors while we all collapse onto the bench we were sitting on a mere few hours ago.

Landon opens the door and sees Dylan. "Can I come in?" her voice is soft and she sounds like a little girl. She even looks like one without any makeup on.

Landon opens the door for her –his room is huge- and then shuts it again. We all strain to hear what's going on in there, but none of us can.

"Why do you think she went in there?" Josh asks.

"I don't think she went in there to beg to let us stay," Claire mumbles. "She's not the type to beg."

Fifteen excruciating minutes later, Dylan and Landon emerge from his room. She's flushed and beaming and Landon is half-smiling.

"After Dylan pointed out some, uh, rather interesting things to me, I figured that I'd give you all another chance and—"

Derrick hugs me harder, and Olivia and Skye start squealing. "Does this mean—"

"Yes," Landon grins at us, and winks at Dylan. "This means you're staying."


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for the reviews (: it means a lot to me! (I know that sounds corny but it's true) :)

* * *

We're all grinning and laughing and being ecstatic on the way to the DH for breakfast. I look up at Derrick and he grins down at me.

"I'm glad you aren't leaving –I mean, I'm glad you and everyone else aren't leaving."

"Me too," I say, relief spreading through me. I'm not being banned! Hurray! "It's weird to think that when I first got told I was being sent here that I didn't want to come. I can't imagine not being here now."

"See, camp isn't so bad! You've met new friends, you'll get a good tan and you're out of the city smog for two and a half beautiful months."

_And I met you_, I want to say, but choose not to. I glance at Alicia, who is still glaring ferociously at us. "I have a feeling things will be worse in our cabin, once we're alone with Alicia. You should have heard what she said to Dylan this morning."

"Speaking of Dylan, what do you think she said to Landon to make him change his mind?" Derrick asks, and sneaks a glance at my terrifying counselor.

"I dunno," I say. I'm still curious at what she'd said. "Maybe she told him what Alicia said."

We walk into the Dining Hall and separate to our cabin tables. "See you at GS?" He asks with a smile.

"Sure," I smile back.

I stand in line to get my usual bowl of Captain Crunch and a glass of orange juice behind Claire. She turns around to look at me, then across the DH at Josh, then back at me.

"So," she says quietly. "I think I need to apologize to you."

I raise one eyebrow but do not say anything. We both reach for a bowl of Captain Crunch at the same time, and she offers me a small smile.

"Good taste in cereal," she observes. "Anyway, I'm sorry I overreacted about you and Josh. But I just get so…anxious because we're so far away from each other. And then you walk in, being all _perfect_, and I just felt so unperfect next to you."

I'm used to having that effect on a lot of girls, but never anyone who looks like Claire. "Well, I would have been suspicious too."

She breathes a sigh of relief. "I shouldn't have freezed you out like that. It wasn't just Josh though, it just felt weird adding a new girl to our cabin. Like, it had been just me, Skye, Olivia and Dyl for so long! But…I'm kind of glad you came…you changed things up."

"I'm glad I came too. And thanks for the apology."

"So, can we be friends? I totally get it if you don't want to be…but I think it will be easier for both of us if we're friends." She smiles shyly at me.

I grin and nod, glad that at least one fight is over with.

"Maybe you and Derrick can even hang out with me and Josh one day…"

"Uh, me and Derrick aren't like dating…" I blush a deep crimson.

"Who knows what will happen –we have two months left," she winks, and we walk side by side to our table.

I nudge Skye, who's still looking sad. "Don't be so glum, chum, we're staying!"

"Uh, yeah," she mumbles and stands up and dumps her still full plate in the garbage. She leaves the DH and I glance around, puzzled.

"What's she so sad about?" I ask, slurping down my cereal.

Olivia leans towards me across the table. "I dunno if you know this but Skye and Derrick used to date, until the end of last summer when he dumped her, and last night she was hoping to get him back but then you and D took off so…she's not handling it that well."

"Oh," with my appetite gone, I throw out my cereal.

"It's okay," Claire smiles. "You didn't know that they dated. S will get over it eventually."

_But I did know they dated. _Dylan told me. And I ignored that. I am such a bad friend. "I'm going to go talk to her," I say. Before I leave the DH, I can't help but notice Dylan's smirk.

Bitch, I think, then walk out to find Skye. She's walking toward our cabin, eyes on her toes.

"Skye?" I call.

She turns around and takes a deep breath. "Yeah?"

I run up to her and try to apologize. "I'm sorry about Derrick…Dylan told me you guys dated, and I swear I was going to come talk to you, but then I got distracted. I know I am the worst friend ever but please, please, please forgive me?"

She sighs. "It's not your fault, I shouldn't still be attached. We broke up for a good reason, and it will take time, but I'll forgive him. It'll just be a little hard seeing you and him together all the time."

I hug her. "We're not dating, you know. We're just…friends."

"_With benefits," _she coughs and grins.

I grin and bump her with my hip, glad that we're okay. The rest of our cabin trickle out of the DH, not talking for fear of pissing off Alicia even more.

Once in the cabin, I quickly change into my bikini, eager to meet up with Derrick. The door slams shut, and I realize that Alicia left without us.

After a minute of silence, Claire says "She's really pissed, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Olivia sighs. "But really, she shouldn't be that pissed over a party. Like disappointed I could see, but she is so fucking angry!"

"Whatever," Dylan rolls her eyes. "We should so talk to Landon about getting a new counselor!"

"Speaking of talkin' to Landon…" Skye grabs her towel from the porch and waits for us just outside the door. "What did you say to him to convince him to let us stay?"

"Oh, uh, I just told him that Alicia was way overreacting and lying about a lot of things. He totally believed me." Dylan sashays out the door, followed by the rest of us.

Derrick and Josh are waiting on the porch, talking to Skye. Derrick grins when he sees me, and my heart skips a beat. (I'm totally aware of how corny and overused that is, but seriously it did!!)

"Hey," he says and falls in step with me as we walk to the beach. "Wanna go swimming? Or we can just relax on the beach if you want. Or get a paddle boat and—"

"D, stop, you're overwhelming the girl!" Josh laughs and winks at me. I still don't trust him completely, but maybe now that I'm with (well sort of with) Derrick, he'll stop and stay with Claire. They're actually really cute together.

Derrick and I decide to swim, and I remember to start paddling before heading hitting the dropoff.

The day goes by quickly, almost too quickly. I can't believe that I'll actually have to leave this place!

After dinner (spaghetti and meatballs that were ten times better than Inez's!), I leave the Dining Hall to find Derrick. We had decided to reschedule our hike to the free time after dinner. The stars would be out, and we'd be able to see them amazingly from the top of a mountain.

We had decided to meet at the Big House, where Derrick was going to grab some bandages, just in case. I know Derrick isn't done his dinner, but I decide to head there early. Dylan had too, claiming that she was feeling a little nauseous.

I walk toward the porch, and notice to people making out. I smirk, getting ready to bust them to earn major gossip points. But as I get closer I see who's kissing. It's Dylan and Landon.


	10. Chapter 10

I love how most of you knew what was up with Dylan and Landon before that chapter even began (:

* * *

Dylan. And Landon. Full on making out. Oh my god. They're like five years apart! I'm pretty sure that's illegal…plus that makes Landon a total pedophile! OH MY GOD!

And suddenly I understand what changed his mind.

I see Derrick walking towards me. I quickly run towards him, not wanting him to see them as well. I may hate Dylan, but from what we just went through, I would hate to see her get sent home.

Especially since it was her who changed Landon's mind and saved our asses.

"Hey," he grins. "Ready for our hike? I brought some chocolate chip cookies, and if you don't like those, I brought white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. And water. Should we head up?"

I grin to and motion for him to lead the way. I follow closely behind Derrick, partially because I'm afraid of getting lost, but mostly because I love being near him.

An owl hoots, and I jump. Derrick notices and holds out his hand. "Uh," he blushes. "You can squeeze my hand if you get scared."

"I wasn't _scared._ I just never hear owls in Westchester," I say, but take his hand anyway.

We walk in silence for a little while, but the silence isn't awkward, it's comfortable. Like we've said everything there is to say.

"So, I dunno if you know this…" he mumbles. "But I _do _like you. Even though I just told Josh I didn't, but screw that."

I consider this. I know he feels _some _attraction towards me, we're holding hands! And I like him too. A lot.

"I get it if you don't like me back," he quickly removes his hand form mine and looks away. "We just met and—"

I take his hand back. "I like you too."

He grins. "Good! Well, uh—"

"Please stop making this awkward! We were doing fine, sans awkwardness before!" I giggle.

He chuckles and we continue our hike, hand in hand. Once we're as far we can go (we're both slightly gasping for breath), I glance up at the sky.

"You were right, the stars are even better up here!"

"I know, they're so bright. And there's so many," he gently squeezes my hand.

This is definitely becoming the best summer of my life.

* * *

After the night game and the last bit of free time (spent walking on the beach with Derrick and Olivia), I return to the cabin, dreading anytime spent breathing the same air as Alicia.

"Hey," Skye says from her bed. She's reading a magazine that had come in for her from the weekly mail delivery. She lifts her eyes and nods towards Alicia's closed door. "The beast has yet to emerge."

Olivia giggles and heads to her bed, where she immediately snuggles under her covers and grabs a book. I've always been jealous of those girls who can just lose themselves in a book.

Claire's out on the porch 'saying goodbye' to Josh, and Dylan's in the washroom, doing her nightly cleansing routine. Nows as good a time as ever to talk to her.

I walk to the washroom and grab my toiletries bag from the cubby above my assigned sink. While casually looking at my St. Ives Green Tea Scrub, I say "Hey."

Dylan looks at me coolly in the mirror while applying a blue goop to her face. "Um, hey."

I glance toward the door to make sure it's closed, then look boldly at Dylan. "I know about you and Landon, Dylan. I saw you guys making out. Like, full on making out. And I know what you did to make sure we stayed."

She glares sharply at me. The blue mud mask is spread all over her face, but I know she's paling. She quickly regains her cool and looks at me squarely. "So? Are you going to go tell on me? Get me kicked out of camp? We both know that's what you want."

"No," I roll my eyes. "I'm not in second grade. And I wouldn't get you kicked out of camp. I may not like you, but I definitely respect you. I was just going to warn you that you may want to keep the PDA private. I saw you guys kissing. Can you imagine if it wasn't me?! What if it was another counselor? Or a camper who's a gossip!"

She washes the mask off her face, pats her face dry and applies moisturizer before answering me. She takes a deep breath and looks at the closed door. "Actually someone did see us…it was Alicia. That's why she's so pissed at me."

"Be quiet! One, Alicia could be listening. And two, none of the other girls know! So keep your voice down," I whisper.

She lowers her voice. "Alicia and Landon were going out. They have been for a while. But then last year at the Camp Social, Landon announced a counselor-camper dance. Each counselor asked a camper to dance. He immediately asked me and we just…hit it off. Then we stayed in touch over the year and…the first night of camp I was just going to grab a bottle of water and we saw each other and we kissed.

"Then he broke up with Alicia and she was coming to his room to try and convince him to change his mind and I was in there and…now she knows. And if she tells anyone, I'm screwed. It's against the law for us to date counselors, but since Landon's head counselor and five years older than me it's even worse! I'll be banned and Landon'll be fired! And this camp is my whole life! I can't be banned!"

On her last word, her voice cracked, and in that second, I feel horrible for her. "I won't tell a soul," I promise, even though it's not me we're worried about. "Not even the other girls."

"What are we going to do about Alicia?" she bites her coral-coloured lip.

"_We?" _I raise my eyebrows. "As in _you and me_?"

"Yes, _we,_" she looks at me pleadingly. "You are the only person at camp –actually the only person I've ever met- who has given me a run for my money. You have alpha power. Us together could get rid of Alicia. She's going to be a bitch all summer and ruin everything. We need to plan something that will get her fired."

Without hesitation, I nod. "Okay."

"You'll do it?!" She looks surprised.

"Yeah, why not. As long as we're not fighting."

"Well we won't be…but we're not friends, just so you know. So don't go all BFF on me."

I laugh and stuff my toiletries bag back in my cubby. "Good night. We'll think of something tomorrow."

Just as I push open the door to the now dark bunk area, Dylan's small voice says: "And Massie? Thanks. Maybe you're not as bad as I thought."

* * *

The next morning, I'm brushing my teeth when Dylan walks in. Her eyes are actually _blazing_ with anger.

"What's wrong?" I ask, since we're the only people in the washroom.

"I guess Alicia is planning her attack," she tosses a scrunched up piece of paper at me. I slowly unscrunch and smooth it out. "I found that in my shoe."

_Dylan_

_You lying little slut. I still can't believe you had the fucking balls to do that to me. I basically CREATED you! And how do you repay me? By fucking my boyfriend. No wonder you never get in trouble... just so you know, I'm telling. You're toast, Dylan. And you will never come back to this camp._

I raise my eyebrows. "When do you think she's going to tell?"

"Probably today…" she taps her long nails against the sink as she thinks. "At breakfast, look for anything out of the ordinary. Chances are, she's already told, and then I'm screwed. But if she hasn't, we still have time to do something after."

"Why wait till after breakfast? We can get her kicked out now, while everyone is eating breakfast."

"We have nothing planned though," Dylan looks at the clock.

"Let's just show Landon how bitchy Alicia really is. I mean it's practically child abuse," I shrug.

"Okay. Stay behind when all the girls go to breakfast. I'll keep Alicia here. You find a way to get Landon here, but keep him out on the porch and stay _quiet. _I'll do something to get Alicia super pissed and she'll start screaming at me."

"And Landon will hear her and kick her out," I finish. "We are _too _good."

Then I do something I've _never_ done in my life. I high-five my arch nemesis. (I don't do high-fives, they're for basketball players and band geeks.) As for my arch nemesis, she's turning out to be kind of cool.

"C'mon, I really want pancakes," Claire whines from the porch. Skye and Olivia follow her. "You guys aren't coming?" She asks when she notices Dylan back in bed and me pretending to search through my stuff.

"Nah, I'm not feeling that great," Dylan lies. "I'll probably be better after I sleep a little more."

"And I'm just looking for um, a letter that my parents wanted me to deliver to Landon. My mom and his mom know each other from way back," I lie.

The girls seem to believe us and walk away, giggling over something or other.

"Ready? Dylan jumps out of bed.

"Yup," I slip on my flip flops. "Good luck."

She grins. "You too. And thanks, again for helping."

"No problem," I quickly apply mascara. I mean, Landon is _really _cute. And I could run into Derrick.

"It's just…I kinda acted like a bitch to you, so it's really surprising you're helping me." She plays with the hem of her tank top.

"Hey, us bitches have to stick together," I wink. "And just do your part, Marvil. Don't go acting all BFF on me!"

She laughs and I run down the porch stairs to the Big House. Yes, Landon is just locking the main door.

"HI!" I shout, even though I'm less than two meters away from him.

He jumps and looks at me. "Oh, uh hey. You scared me…Massie right?"

"Yeah!" I grin. "It's my first year here."

"Oh yeah?" How are you liking it?" I have to walk fast to keep up with his long stride.

"It's great! I can't believe I missed out on camp for so long! Anyway, um, the reason I'm talking to you is…" I struggle to think of a reason why I need him to come to my cabin. "…I think I saw a rat in my cabin!"

"Are you sure it wasn't a skunk or a raccoon?"

"No it was a rat. Like the ones in New York. HUGE! I swear it was twice the size of my head!"

"Maybe I should come check it out after breakfast…" He looks toward the area where the cabins are.

"NO! Now! Please, I mean we're all so scared to go in there. Especially Dylan! Uh, they don't have rats in D.C., so she's never really seen one."

"Dylan's scared?" He scoffs. "I didn't think that was possible. I'll come look."

We sprint to my cabin (well he sprints; I struggle behind him since I'm still tired from my run to the BH.).

I have to get to the porch before him so I can make sure Dylan's ready. I quickly fall and shriek.

"Oh, gosh, are you okay?" Landon runs back and looks down at my foot.

"Fine," I push him slightly and bolt to my cabin.

"…and he's a _great _kisser," I hear Dylan's cocky voice say from the inside.

Landon runs up the stairs and pauses behind me in perfect time to hear Alicia shout:

"You slut! I can't believe you! He's only dating you because he feels bad for you! No one actually likes you, you fucking skank!" and then a loud _crash._

After the crash, Landon throws open the door. We look around the room. Alicia's clothes are scattered around the room with Dylan's size-six shoeprints on them. The beds are a mess. There's a broken lamp beside Dylan. I look at Dylan's, who's smirking, then at Alicia, who's staring wide eyed at Landon and me.

"Dylan!" She says quickly. "I understand that you're angry at me, but breaking lamps is not the way to go, honey. You're just jealous because me and Landon are in love, and I don't blame you. I'd be jealous too if—"

"Alicia," Landon's voice is like steel. "Meet me in my office in five minutes."

Alicia winks suggestively at Landon. "Whatever you say, baby—"

"I heard what you said to Dylan, _before _we entered the room. You're fired."

"W-what!?" Alicia sputters. "No, no, I didn't do anything! I—"

"GO!" Landon orders, and Alicia runs out of the room, crying. Landon opens his arms, and Dylan hugs him. "You could have told me she was being like that." he whispers into her hair.

"But then _you _would have fired her. You would have done something for me, when I was totally capable of doing it myself. I can do it." She squeezes his waist.

I'm jealous for a moment. Dylan really likes Landon, and it's clear he feels the same way. But then I think of Derrick's sweet face, and that envy just melts away.

Landon grins. "I love you, you know."

"I know," she steps out of his arms. "I love you too."

Landon winks once at me, then waves at Dylan, his gaze lingering on her face. He leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Wow," I say, shocked. "I didn't know you had a sweet bone in your body. Or the ability to love someone."

"Landon's different then anyone I've ever met…" she shrugs then surveys the room and squeals. "Can you _believe _we just got her fired?! I'm so proud of us!"

We hug and jump, squealing with happiness and pride. Then, we break apart, staring awkwardly at each other.

"Um," I try to think of something to say.

"Save it, Block," she bumps her hip against mine. "I think today you've promoted yourself to best friend status." She grins. "Now let's go get some pancakes!"


	11. Chapter 11

I'm hoping to finish this up within another five chapters…but I don't really wanna stop writing it!!

* * *

After breakfast, we all head back to the cabin to clean up. Alicia's clothes that were on the floor are now gone. Skye checks in the counselor room. "The rest of her stuff is gone, too."

"She was being such a bitch," Claire says while fluffing her pillow. "Thank god you got rid of her."

Dylan looks at me from her bed with a half smile on her face. "We done good, kid," she winks.

I laugh and head to the washroom to change into my swimsuit. This summer is going to be so amazing. I'm friends with my cabinmates, I have a gorgeous and sweet (almost) boyfriend, and I am going to have a killer tan when I go back home!

"Massie!" Claire says when I come out, holding my towel. "Do you and Derrick want to come out on the paddleboat with me and Josh?"

I shrug. "Maybe…I kinda just feel like relaxing. This morning has stressed me out."

"So…" Olivia crinkles her eyebrows slightly. "Who's going to be our counselor now?"

Oh. "Um, I don't know…"

"I hadn't even thought of us getting a new counselor, I was just focused on getting rid of Alicia." Dylan says as we walk down to the beach.

"We don't need a counselor," Olivia says. "We are so responsible!"

Skye and I burst out laughing, and Claire giggles. I look at Dylan, wondering why she hadn't laughed, and follow her gaze to Landon. He's on beach duty today, meaning he (along with the lifeguard) just lounge on the beach (and are supposed to watch us, but hey don't).

My heart breaks for her, because I know how much she just wants to love him, without keeping it a secret. This summer is definitely changing me; I don't think I've ever really cared about the well-being of someone other than myself before.

* * *

That night, I'm sitting on the porch with Derrick when he mumbles something incoherent.

"What?" I ask, and take a ginormous bite of my cookie.

"Uh…never mind," he mumbles and looks away.

"Tell me," I argue and elbow him gently in the ribs.

"Do you wanna go out with me sometime?" he says really quickly. "Maybe when camp is over you can come to Manhattan for a day and we can hang out."

"Sure," I grin. "That sounds fun! Or you can come to Westchester and meet my—" I break off, not wanting to say the word _friends. _Now that I've met the girls of cabin fifteen, and we're all good friends, I can't imagine going back to hanging out with Kristen.

"Uh you can meet my horse. His name is Brownie," I force a grin.

"You can meet my fish," Derrick wraps and arm around my waist. "His name is Fish."

"So original," I laugh.

And we sit like that, his arm around my waist and my head on his shoulder, until it's lights out.

* * *

I wake up to Skye blowing up a balloon and letting it fly around the cabin.

"HAPPY JULY FOURTH!" she shrieks when I sit up.

I giggle. "You too!" The rest of the girls are getting up and stretching and yawning.

"We _have _to wear red, blue and white today," Skye orders, and changes into her red tank top and navy shorts. "Hmm…what can I wear that's white?"

Olivia tosses her a white bandanna. "Here, it's the only white thing accessory I brought to camp."

Skye ties it around her blonde ponytail and starts bouncing on her toes. "C'mon guys! July fourth is when the good food is made! We have to hurry or it'll be gone!"

I smile and try to find any patriotic clothing. Skye turns to me with a huge grin. "The night of July fourth is always the _best_. There's fireworks on the beach, and Landon always makes burgers and hotdogs. I'm warning you, you might want to eat before we head down there. Landon tends to like his meat _black._"

I giggle and follow her out the door. We wait on the porch for the other girls. Campers are shuffling their way to the DH, birds are chirping, and before I know it, Derrick's standing in front of me, clad in navy shorts and a red t-shirt.

"Wanna sit together for the fireworks? I know how clichéd that is, but they're always great," he smiles hopefully.

I glance at Skye, who's rehanging the towels that are dangling off the railing. "Uh, sure," I say. "Unless you mind," I turn to Skye.

"Hmm?" She looks up. "Uh, no, go ahead. Claire always ditches us to sit with Josh, and Olivia like stalks Danny."

I smile up at Derrick's warm milk chocolate coloured eyes. "Then it's a date."

* * *

Skye was right when she said the fourth of July was the best! The beach is full of people's blankets spread out, with campers lounging all over the place; Landon's flipping burgers on three different barbeques (I can't help but notice how Dylan has suddenly taken an interest in ground beef); someone's iPod is blasting All Time Low; and I am holding hands with the sweetest boy ever.

I look up at the moon surrounded by twinkling starts. It couldn't have been a more perfect night for fireworks; there's not a cloud to be seen. Derrick is looking around the beach for Claire and Josh (we had promised to sit together), but I don't see them.

A breeze blows through the beach, causing me to shiver. "Cold?" Derrick raises his golden eyebrows.

"Nope," I lie, tapping my foot against the blanket to get the blood flowing.

Derrick smirks, and I know he can see right through me. "Here," he pulls of his hoody and his t-shirt rises a little. I'll admit that it did get a little hotter after seeing a sliver of his perfect abs.

I pull on his warm grey hoody, inhaling the scent of Old Spice deodorant as it slips over my head.

"Hey," a breathless Claire plops down on the fleece blanket beside me. "Ohmigod, I don't think it's ever been this busy! Has it, Josh?" she turns to her boyfriend, who's shoving a very burnt burger in his mouth.

"I dunno," his words are muffled by the food. "Maybe everyone got fatter."

"That's your third burger, Josh," Claire sighs. "If anyone is getting fatter, it's you."

Derrick and I laugh, while Josh faux-punches Claire in the arm, then wraps a tanned arm around her waist.

"WHO'S READY FOR FIREWORKS?!" Landon screams into a bullhorn.

Cries and shouts of 'me!' ring through the dark. I quickly scan the beach: Dylan's far away from the beach, almost near the paths that lead to the cabins. I guess she's waiting for Landon. Olivia is, in fact, with Danny. They're sitting beside each other, both looking awkward. And Skye is with some girls from another cabin, looking like a younger sibling that got left behind.

Before I can feel bad for her, Derrick takes my hand. "If you give me my hoody back, I'll keep you warm in my arms," he whispers, since a hush has fallen over the crowd.

My lips curl into a soft smile, and I pull of the hoody and hand it to him. After he puts it on, he wraps his arms around me from behind.

As the fireworks start up, Derrick tightens his grip around me. The sky lights up with different colours, and booms and cracks echo around the camp.

"Well," I hear Claire say to Josh. "Looks like Massie and Derrick have their own fireworks."

Cheesy as that is, I couldn't agree more.


	12. Chapter 12

The month of July flies by. Before I know it, it's August fourth. It makes me sad to think that in only twenty days I'll have to leave this place.

In the last week of July, we finally got a new counselor. She doesn't really talk to us, instead staying in the counselor's room. But I like it that she doesn't annoy us. There had been rare moments when we actually had conversations, but I guess she was shy.

"So," Olivia is lying on a towel beside me. "You guys can all come up to my place for spring break. My parents are going to be in England, so I'll be by myself."

"Are the guys coming, like last year? That was so fun!" Claire asks from the other side of me.

The five of us are sprawled out on the beach, hoping to get more tanned in the final weeks of camp.

"Yeah," Olivia says. "Maybe Danny will finally ask me out."

Dylan giggles. "His braces would like tear your lips off if you guys made out."

"It's _is_ painful," Olivia sighs. "We made out a few weeks ago, but we haven't really talked since then."

"What?!" Skye turns her head to look at Olivia. "Why did I not hear of this?"

Olivia just shrugs with a hint of a smile on her face. "Sorry, hun, I don't kiss and tell."

"Do you guys think it's weird that Derrick and I haven't kissed yet?" I ask them, shocked that I'm showing insecurity.

"You haven't?!" Dylan raises her eyebrows. "You're always hanging out though!"

"Yeah but, I dunno, we hold hands and stuff, but we haven't actually kissed yet," I bite my lower lip and blush. "Maybe he doesn't like me."

"Puh-lease," Claire scoffs. "That boy worships the ground you walk on."

"Maybe he's just taking things slow so you guys don't get hurt," Olivia suggests.

"I think I'm going to head back to the cabin," Skye says. "I don't feel that great."

My cheeks burn, and it's not from the sun shining on them. "We'll stop talking about Derrick."

"That's not why I'm leaving," she snaps. "I've felt nauseous the past few weeks."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Claire asks. "I packed Pepto."

Skye opens her mouth to respond, but then her eyes roll to the back of her head and she crumples to the ground.

Claire shrieks and Olivia bolts to her side. Dylan and I stare wide-eyed at her pale form on the sand.

Chris runs over to us. "What happened?" he asks while checking her pulse.

"I don't know," Olivia says. "She was telling us she didn't feel well and then she just…fainted!"

Chris walkie-talkies the nurse at the big house, who comes running out with two guys, who hoist her onto a stretcher. Chris and the nurse talk quietly for a few seconds, then the nurse and the two boys roll Skye's lifeless body away.

"Ohmigod," Claire says slowly, her blue eyes shiny. "What's wrong with her?"

Chris shrugs and pushes his glasses farther up on his nose. "Uh, maybe you guys should all go back to your cabin. Landon'll probably let you keep the rest of the day off, I'll talk to him."

"We don't need the rest of the day off," Olivia snaps. "It's not like she's seriously sick. It's probably just heat stroke, right?"

Chris says nothing. He fidgets with his glasses, and squints up at the sun.

"_Right_?" Olivia tries again.

"Listen, I don't know anything," Chris says with sympathy in his blue eyes. "But Nurse Adele thinks it could be serious. Her heartbeat is very slow right now, but that could be because of the sun. Adele's gonna take a blood test. I promise you that I'll keep you informed as soon as I find out. Now go to your cabin."

The four of us shuffle into our cabin. Olivia's sniffling and wiping her nose on her bare arm. My brain is working too hard for me to be grossed out.

Dylan flops face first on her bed. Her curls spill out of the chic bun they had been in. It's the first time I've seen her with messy hair (swear to God, the girl wakes up looking like her hair has just been blown out).

Claire takes her Blackberry out of an empty deodorant can (such a great hiding spot), and turns it on. "Texting her boyfriend in West Chester," Claire mumbles when she notices me watching.

"Westchester," I correct automatically. My voice sounds tinny though. My bed feels empty with only me in it. Skye's yellow teddy bear is sitting alone on her bed.

"What did Chris mean when he said it could be serious?" Dylan's muffled voice says. She's still lying facedown on her comforter.

"I don't know," Olivia whines. "Like what the hell happened to her?!"

And that's how the rest of our day goes. Claire had closed the curtains, so we sit in darkness. I fall asleep for a while, until Claire shakes me awake.

"C'mon, might as well get some food. Landon just came and said we could grab some food and bring it in here."

We walk into the DH, hair thrown into messy buns, baggy t-shirts on, and eyes down. It would be too hard to see our empty table.

I glance at the clock on the wall. 6:07 pm. And still no word about Skye. We grab fruit, bottles of water, two bags of double-stuffed Oreos, and five Swiss cheese and turkey sandwiches (incase Skye's hungry when she comes back) from the to-go counter.

Back in the cabin, we eat in silence. "Do you think it's weird we haven't heard anything about Skye yet?" I ask.

"I dunno, they probably don't know anything yet," Olivia says through a mouthful of cheese, lettuce and whole-wheat bread.

"It's been all day," Dylan snaps. "They should know something by now!"

As if conjured up by our conversation, Nurse Adele opens the door. "Can we come in?" She asks.

Claire nods slowly, and hides her cell phone in her bra. Nurse Adele and Landon come in, and Landon flips on the lights. We all cringe at the sudden brightness.

Nurse Adele looks at the mess of clothes on the ground with a frown. "Well girls, I'm sure you're all wondering what's up with Skye," her voice is soft and full of sympathy. That can only mean things are bad.

"Well?" Dylan presses, glaring at the poor nurse. I notice that I'm squeezing my charm bracelet so hard, that the point of the crown is drawing blood. A quick glace around the room shows me that the others are silently freaking out too. Claire is virtually invisible except for a tangle of gold curls peeking out of her yellow and blue duvet. Olivia's squeezing her eyes shut and trying to breathe deeply. Dylan is avoiding everyone's eyes, not wanting to accept any sympathy. It's a total alpha move, but I want to know if Skye's okay.

"Well," Nurse Adele continues, "I ran some blood tests on Skye, and I didn't like what I was finding. So we sent her to the hospital in the town closest to camp for some…deeper tests.

"What they found in her tests were the same as what I had found," at this point, even Dylan's looking scared.

Nurse Adele wipes a few tears from her eyes and Landon takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry guys," he says. "Skye has leukemia."


	13. Chapter 13

Omigosh, you all have put me in the best mood ever. Like I feel great that you reviewed, but what you said _in_ the review just made me ecstatic. So thanks!

* * *

If you thought we were depressed before we found out, you should've seen us _after._ After an hour and a half of Claire sobbing (very loudly), the room was absolutely quiet.

As soon as Landon had told us, we all went into our own ways of coping. Claire sobbed on her bed; Olivia had shouted "Bad sushi!" and ran to the washroom, where I could hear her puking up a lung; Dylan had left the cabin, slamming the door behind her (she still hadn't returned and it was almost 5 hours later); and I had covered every inch of myself with duvet, having my cell phone as my only light source.

**kristen:** sorry about your frend…o well, that will show you not to get atached to stranjers

Her spelling errors prove how stupid she really is.

**massie: **she was not a stranger, kris! she was my best friend. she still is my best friend, just cuz she has leukemia doesn't mean she's going to die!

**kristen: **actually, i'm pretty sure it does

At that, I start to cry again. I've never, in my life, cried in public. Ask my parents: as a baby, I never cried. People always told my parents I was a perfect baby. I only cried alone in my crib.

But now here I was, crying in front of my cabin. Although, by the sounds of things, everyone was asleep. Our counselor had decided to sleep in the Counselor's Lounge, hoping to get away from our crying. There hadn't been any sounds at all for the past hour. And it was 12:54 am. And Dylan still wasn't around.

All these little things just make me cry harder. Finally, when my sobs are reduced to hiccups and sniffles, I hear Olivia say "Mass?" really softly.

"Yeah?" I sniffle.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I sniffle-sigh. "Mind asking me that later, though? I have a feeling I wont be okay once we venture out into the real world."

Olivia giggles, but I can hear that it's not as perky as it usually is. "What time is it?" she asks.

"Twelve fifty-eight," I glance at my phone again.

"Where do you think Dyl is?" she sniffles.

I have a pretty good idea, but I don't want to rat her out. "No clue…maybe she's at the beach or something."

"Massie?" Olivia says, her voice really small. "Do you think I can come up there with you? Claire's way down on the bottom bunk and asleep."

"C'mon," I smile through my tears, and wiggle to one side of my bed. "But bring your pillow, 'cause if you steal mine, I swear I'll suffocate you with it."

She giggles and thumps across the room. I can't see her, but I smell her Bumble and Bumble shampoo the second she's on my bunk.

"No fair," I hear Claire's voice across the room. "I want to sleep there too!"

"We thought you were asleep!" Olivia giggles. I feel her shoulders shaking, which makes me start to laugh.

Claire's at the top of the wooden ladder in seconds, feather pillow in hand. "I felt left out," she explains. "Besides, it's not a sleepover without _me._"

Me and Olivia squish over to the left to make room for Claire. How the three of us fit up on my tiny single bed, I don't know.

"Thank god we're all thin," Claire laughs.

It's quiet for a few minutes, but not like uncomfortable silence. More like the silence you can only have with your best friends, when there's nothing left to say.

"I love you guys," I sigh, getting more and more tired.

"I love you too, Mass," Olivia rests her head on my shoulder. "Even if you have bony shoulders." She rolls her head to her other side and leans it on Claire's shoulder.

"I love you too," Claire sounds somewhat choked up. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch at the beginning of the summer. I'm really glad you're here."

"It's forgotten," I say. And it's true; I've put all of that drama behind me. These girls are too amazing to stay mad at.

Olivia takes both of our hands and squeezes. "Good night," she mumbles sleepily.

"Sleep tight," Claire yawns.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite," I giggle.

We all giggle, before snuggling deeper into my duvet. Suddenly, the door opens, causing the three of us to shriek.

Whoever opened the door shrieks too. "What?!"

"Dylan," Claire breathes. "You scared the hell out of us! Where were you?!"

Dylan flicks on the light; her curls are sopping and dripping down her face. "It's raining," she says, even though we can see that –and hear the thunder-, since she left the door open.

She shuts the door, and shakes out her hair. "What are you guys doing?" she asks when she notices the three of us in my bed.

"Having a sleepover," Olivia says. "None of us wanted to be alone."

"That's beside the point," Claire says. "Where_ were_ you?!"

Dylan meets my eyes. "No where," she says, though I know where she was. "Uh, just walking around."

"For _eight _hours?" Claire asks, incredulous.

"In a _thunder storm_?" Olivia asks, just as incredulous.

I nudge them to stop. "Wanna come up with us?" I ask.

"Slumber parties aren't my thing," she changes into her pajamas. "See you in the morning," she turns out the light and climbs into her own bed.

As I try to fall asleep, I think of all things that aren't Skye-related. I'm going to have majorly puffy eyes tomorrow. I'll have to borrow Claire's Laura Mercier Eye-Lifter if I'm going to be seeing Derrick…

Just as my brain starts to shut down, someone jumps on my bed, causing my eyes to pop open.

"Ah!!" Olivia screams.

"It's just me," Dylan says. "Sorry, but I didn't wanna be down there by myself."

"And I thought there was no room with the three of us," Claire grumbles, but I can tell that she's happy we're all together.

Somehow, we end up all over the bed, yet still attached. Like a pile of gerbils (those things are _so _cute!)!

And I fall asleep with my best friends snoring beside me.

* * *

The next morning my back is stiff from sharing a single bed with three other girls, my eyes are puffy and crusty with tears, and my head feels heavy, like I got no sleep.

"So…what are we going to do today?" Olivia says. I know she doesn't want to stay in here all day, and I don't blame her. It's too depressing.

"I say we go on with camp," I say, ignoring Claire's raised eyebrows. "We only have nineteen days left, and Skye would _not_ want us to stay in here moping."

"Agreed," Dylan says. "Besides I am so craving fresh air. It smells like my grandmother in here."

We all giggle and walk out the door, not bothering to change out of our pajamas. We must all look like death: uncombed hair, puffy eyes, pillow creases on our cheeks. And yet, I've never felt more confident. Having your best friends near you can do that.

The second we walk into the DH, all talking stops. I can tell everyone is trying hard not to look at us. I'd be looking too, if the situations were reversed.

Then Derrick stands up and walks over to us. Claire and Olivia immediately turn to get there breakfasts, trying to give us privacy. That's impossible, since everyone's still staring at us. Dylan just smirks, and slowly turns away too.

"Hey—"

I'm cut off by Derrick pressing his lips to mine. "Hey, yourself," he says casually, as though we didn't just have our first kiss.

The only thing running through my mind is the fact that I have not brushed my teeth yet. Gross, gross, gross.

"Uh, hey."

"Sorry that took so long," Derrick said. "I was waiting for the moment when you least expected it."

Warmth spreads throughout my sad body. I know I look awful, but Derrick has just made me feel like the most beautiful person on earth.


	14. Chapter 14

Sequel? I'm thinking yes:)

Oh and fourteen gold medals (the most on homesoil like _ever_) and beating the US with seven minutes left in overtime? I'm also thinking yes:)

BTW: three chapters left!!!!!

* * *

"I'm fine, Mass, really," Skye says via the phone in the Big House. "It was all so fast…but, I feel okay, really."

"Are you sure?" I press. "Oh, Skye, I wish you were here."

"Me too," she sighs. "I'm going to lose my hair."

I sniffle. "It'll be okay…I'll get Jakkob to make you a wig. It'll be just as nice as your real hair."

She giggles. "Thanks. I should go; there are other kids that wanna use the phone. Say hi to the rest of the girls for me, 'kay? And have a big helping of lasagna! Love you!"

"Done and done! Love you too," I hang up and take a deep breath.

"You okay?" Landon asks when I walk out of the phone room.

"Yeah, fine," I mumble.

"Good," he says. "Have fun, you only have a few weeks of camp left. Think you'll be coming back next year?"

"Of course," I grin.

"I'll keep you in the same cabin," he winks. "Oh, we're not doing any activities today because of this rain," he glances out the window at the rain pouring down. "They're showing one of the Harry Potter movies in the Counselor's Lounge if you wanna go see it."

"Eh, no thanks," I wrinkle my nose. "Harry Potter is for nerds."

Landon laughs, and I see why Dylan loves him. His laugh –as well as the rest of him- is amazing.

I sprint back to my cabin, hoping my hair won't get _too _wet. I almost make it when I hear someone say "Hey" behind me.

I stop and turn around. There, in all of his Greek god studliness, is Josh Hotz. I had avoided him for most of the summer because –even though he was dating Claire and I was with Derrick- he kept staring at me like a…molester!

"Uh, hi," I say.

"I feel like we haven't hung out all summer," he cocks his head to the left. "Wanna do something now?"

"Uh, no, sorry. I'm soaking wet and I could really use a shower," I glare at him, making it clear that I don't want company in it.

"Fine," he chuckles. "I know when a girl rejects me."

I spin around, ready to march into my cabin. "Just so you know," he says. "I'm coming to Olivia's during spring break. Her house is _huge._"

"So…?" I raise an eyebrow.

"It can be our little secret," he winks. "No one else is gonna know."

I'm about to tell him off when the cabin door flies open and Claire runs out. "Joshie! Let's do something!"

"Okay," he grins, sliding his hand into hers'. "What do you want to do?"

"Let's go watch Harry Potter; it'll be dark," she wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.

"Sounds great to me," he says and they walk off in the direction of the Counselor's Lounge.

"That boy is messed," I say to myself, then trudge up the stairs to the cabin.

"It's raining cats and dogs out there," Dylan says. She's lying on her stomach on her bed, flipping through _Us Weekly_.

"Why do people say that?" Olivia's feet are propped up on the wooden wall and she's lying partially upside down on her back, like a bat. She has huge black reading glasses perched on her freckled nose, which is buried in a book.

"What do you mean?" I shake out my hair.

"Why don't they say 'it's raining…baby boys and girls'," she shrugs.

"Um, 'cause that's just awful," Dylan laughs.

"So is today really going to consist of you guys reading while I do absolutely nothing?" I ask.

"Pretty much," Olivia doesn't once look up from her book.

"Well I could use a shower," Dylan throws her magazine onto Claire's bed. "This rain is totally killing my hair." She sniffles twice. "And I think I have a cold."

"That's what you get for walking around in the rain for like six hours!" Olivia says.

Dylan and I grab our bath 'pails' (My old YSL tote filled with soap, a loufa, shampoo and conditioner, face cloths, razors and shaving cream, and other bath necessities) and head out into the pouring rain, trying to avoid getting our towels wet.

"Which showers?" She asks.

"Uh…pool ones?" I think of the biggest shower room that almost never runs out of hot water. "It only has three stalls so there won't be a lot of girls there."

"Good idea," She tucks her folded towel into her jacket. Then we run past the cabins and across the wet, slippery grass into the pool house.

The shower area is full of steam and smells like grapefruit. "You can go," I tell Dylan, since there's only one stall left. "I'll wait."

"Did you hear?" One girl says to the other.

Dylan presses a finger to her lips. "Shh," she whispers. "This could be good."

"What?" The other girl asks in an extremely nasal voice.

"Josh Hotz totally hooked up with that new girl…the pretty one with brown hair? What's her name? Maysie?"

I jaw drops. Dylan turns to look at me, a questioning look on her still-pale face.

"Ehmagawd!" Girl Two screeches. "What?! Since when? I never thought Claire and Josh would break up!"

"Claire doesn't know! Do you know how much that sucks for her though? I mean, Maysie just barged into her cabin and completely stole her boyfriend."

"I know! What a bitch!"

"Especially when she has Derrick," Girl One huffs.

I shake my head at Dylan, silently telling her that all of that's untrue. She purses her lips and for a second, I think she doesn't believe me. Then she glares at the shower stalls. The water stops running and a tanned hand reaches for a towel. When she steps out she gasps, looking genuinely scared to see Dylan glaring at her like that.

"Oh, uh, hey Dylan!" she forces a grin. "Hey…Maysie."

"Layne," Dylan snarls. "Rule number one of gossiping: Never gossip in public washrooms."

She opens her mouth but I cut her off. "I don't know who you are," I snap, "But you better shut up about me and Josh. I think we both know that you're making that up. And trust me, you don't want to mess with _Massie _Block."

"Uh," Layne stammers, and blushes. "I don't know—"

"Save it," Dylan says. "Get your friend and your hairy ass out of here."

"C'mon, Meena!" Layne shouts. "I'll meet you outside." She hurries out of the shower room.

Dylan and I laugh and slap a few high fives. "You're pretty good," She says as we head into the abandoned shower stalls.

"At what?"

"At…alpha-ing!"

"That can't be the right verb," I turn on the deliciously hot water.

"Whatever," She giggles. "Nice job, Block."

I grin. I did do a great job.

* * *

"Block!" Derrick shouts when I'm three feet away from the cabin.

"Hey!" I grin. "Mind taking my stuff in?" I ask Dylan, who grabs my bag and leaves us alone.

"Hey," he says.

"This rain is crazy!" I glance up, only to get rain in my eyes. That actually hurts.

"Yeah, but it's like this for a few days every summer. So, I think we're getting pretty official," he says shyly. "I wrote my mom a letter telling her about you. She wants you to come over once camp's over."

I blush but am touched. "That sounds fun! Think she'll like me?"

"Who wouldn't like you?" His eyes sparkle. "My dad'll even be home," he rolls his eyes. "But that just shows you that it's a big deal. And don't let Sammi scare you off, 'kay?"

I giggle. "'Kay. That means you have to meet my freakshow of a family in return! My dad's pretty tough on any guys I bring home. But I'm his only child so I guess that's understandable. And tell my mom she looks young, even though she's turning forty-six. Botox is her best friend."

He laughs and plants a soft kiss on my lips. I wrap my arms around his neck. Then I hear

"DERRICK AND MASSIE SITTING IN A TREE! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

I whip around to see Olivia, Claire and Dylan standing on the porch making kissing noises at us.

Even that couldn't ruin my bad mood.


	15. Chapter 15

So I'm deffs doing a sequel. Only problem: I can't come up with a name. So let's have a contest, shall we? All of you can tell me in a review a title that you think seems appropriate for a story very similar to this. Whichever one I like best will win and YOU will win my eternal gratitude and a sneak peak of the sequel:)

I don't know…I think I may be doing more chapters than three. So Sleep Away shall be longer:)

* * *

It rains for the next two days, locking us in our cabin. I rarely venture outside because of the rain ruining my hair, but Derrick comes to hang out and play poker. Unfortunately, Josh comes with him, but he and Claire don't play unless it's strip poker.

I admit that I tried to watch Harry Potter in the CL, only because Derrick was a fan, but as soon as I saw an owl, I left. Really, who likes _owls_? And who in their right mind would wear glasses like Harry?

And now I'm sitting in the Arts and Crafts room with Dylan, Claire and Olivia, trying to make friendship bracelets.

"Do you know how corny this is?" Claire laughs. She and I stink the most at making lanyard bracelets. Olivia's a pro, and Dylan's pretty good. But Claire and I just suck.

"Shut up," Olivia sticks out her tongue. "I like corny things."

Dylan makes a gagging noise and ties off her bracelet. "Done," she shows us with a grin. It's blue and gold string, and is actually pretty cute for a circle of braided string!

She glances at mine. "Ew, Mass, what _is _that?!"

My purple and gold monstrosity is lying in a heap on the table. "Shut up, you guys have been making these for years! I haven't!"

"That's no excuse for Claire!" Olivia laughs. "You've been making these just as long as me and yours' is almost as bad as Massie's!"

"Shut up!" Claire and I both giggle-shriek.

In the end, Dylan makes mine and Olivia makes Claire's. Claire's is lime green and gold, and Olivia's is pink and gold.

"They look great," Claire admires our four wrists.

"Only because you let us takeover," Olivia giggles. "If you had done it, it wouldn't have looked so amazing."

We all sit on the porch in silence, doing that quiet thing that only best friends can do. I'm so glad I came to camp. How could I ever have not wanted to?!

* * *

It's the last week of camp. Only six days till I return to Westchester. But from what Claire tells me, the last week of camp is the best week of the whole summer. And the rain finally stops, so we have to return to our usual activities.

We're sitting at the amphitheatre, surrounded by dozens of other campers. When Landon walks onto the little stage, everyone cheers and claps and screams. I peak at Dylan out of the corner of my eye: she's clapping half-heartedly with a bored look on her face.

"We've had an _amazing _summer," more clapping and screaming, "And, sadly, it's coming to an end." lot's of boos. "We have a hell of a last week planned for you all! And now here's Chris to tell you what we're doing." He walks off stage, and a slightly nervous looking Chris takes his place.

"Uh hey, everyone. So tomorrow is our Special Olympics. Each cabin participates in our…special challenges. Last cabin standing wins ice cream and pizza for dinner!"

The crowd cheers extra loudly. "We _have _to win every challenge," Dylan advises us. "I don't like losing."

"And then on Tuesday is the much-awaited COLOUR WAR!!" at that, even Claire, Dylan and Olivia scream.

"What's a colour war?" I ask them.

"The whole camp –including counselors- is divided into two teams and given a colour. Then we compete in things like archery and soccer and basket ball and swimming and challenges like that, and whoever wins gets their team a certain number of points. At the end of the day the team with the most points wins. And it takes all day and there is no break for lunch," Olivia tells me.

Except for the sports part, that sounds really fun. I love competitions.

"Wednesday is the camp play, what those who took drama as an elective have been preparing for all summer! And after that is the Camp Idol, so get ready to sing or dance your heart out. The winner gets a pretty nice trophy!

"Thursday is Do Nothing Day. That means you can do whatever you want –within reason-, whenever you want!

"And Friday is the Camp Social. Here that boys? You have a week to ask that girl you've been eyeing all summer. After dinner, you go to your cabin to get dressed up, and then walk to the indoor gym. Then Saturday at lunch, you guessed it, it's time to go home."

After some boos, everyone starts to stir. The four of us start walking back to our cabin for Free Time.

"Wait till you see the dress I brought for the social," Olivia says. "And heels. I'm hoping they'll make me seem taller."

"You can borrow one of my dresses if you didn't know to bring one," Claire offers me.

"It's okay, I have one. I didn't really know what to pack so I packed everything," I shrug. I have at least five dresses and a few pairs of heels packed.

Olivia laughs and Claire starts waving when she sees Josh. "I'm going to go hang with Joshie for free, 'kay?"

"Okay," Olivia rolls her eyes.

Once Claire is out of earshot I say "I don't really trust Josh."

"Why not?" Olivia crinkles her brows. "He's a sweetie."

"No way!" I shake my head. "All summer he has hit on me and just been a total creeper. Claire can do so much better."

"Wow," Olivia says. "I never thought Josh would even look at another girl. Last summer he and Claire were so in love. And he seemed really into her all this summer, too."

"I know it's like he has split personalities. I just think Claire should get rid of him for good."

"Makes sense though," Dylan says. "If anyone could make Josh think about someone else it would be you."

"Hey!" Derrick appears in front of us. "Mind if I take Massie for the rest of free time?"

"Not at all," Olivia wiggles her eyebrows at me.

She and Dylan walk back to our cabin laughing. I turn to face Derrick. "Can you believe the summer is ending?"

"I know," he says, sadly. "So…I really like you, but I dunno how you feel about me so do you think we should keep dating through the year? Or, you know, is this just a summer fling or whatever? 'Cause I'd like to keep seeing you but if you don't—"

"I'd like to keep seeing you too," I cut off his rambling.

"Okay," he blushes. "Cool."

"Cool," I repeat, and blush too.

"So…I'll let you go back to your cabin. I just wanted to ask you that," he offers me a shy smile.

"Okay," I smile back him. "So, are we going to the Camp Social together?"

"Sounds good," he kisses me on the cheek. "I gotta go or Robbins is gonna bust my ass –he thinks he can beat me in poker and this is the only time we can play."

"See ya," I giggle and walk back to my cabin.

I sit on my bed and listen to Dylan and Olivia arguing over deodorant or something in the bathroom. Before I know it, I'm asleep.

* * *

"We need war paint!" I hear Claire shout.

Today's the Special Olympics, and Dylan, Olivia and Claire are scrambling around, trying to organize things.

"What colour?" I mumble sleepily. Claire just woke me up.

"Hmmm…red? What do you think?"

"Anything but pink," Dylan says from the bathroom, where she's brushing her teeth. "It clashes with my hair."

"Okay red then."

"Try my MAC Russian Red lipstick," I sit up. "It's in my makeup bag."

I quickly change into purple stretchy short shorts and a black tank top. I walk into the bathroom, where the rest of the girls are, and brush my teeth.

Olivia leans close to the mirror and paints a thick, bright red stripe of lipstick on each cheek. Claire and Dylan are already done, so once I pull my hair into a high ponytail, I paint my 'war paint' and follow the girls out the door.

"Welcome to the Special Olympics!" Landon shouts to the crowd of campers. "Our first game is the Chariot Racing!"

Everyone cheers and gets into their cabin groups. Basically, some people are on a flat piece of wood with wheels on the bottom, holding onto a skipping rope, while the rest of the cabin pulls them. Sounds incredibly dangerous.

"Okay, so Massie are you fast?" Olivia asks.

I shake my head. "I don't run," I shrug apologetically.

"I can't either," Claire says. "So we'll ride and since you guys are fast, you'll pull."

Claire and I step onto the plank; she's holding the skipping rope, and I'm holding her shoulders.

We walk slowly to the starting/finish line, where the rest of the cabins are lined up. I see Derrick and Danny Robbins getting ready to pull Josh and Kemp Hurley. I wave slightly, and Derrick grins. Unfortunately, so does Josh.

"On your marks," Landon says into a huge bull horn. "Get set," Olivia tightens her grip on the skipping rope. "GO!"

With that, everyone takes off. I dig my fingers into Claire's bony shoulder so I don't fly off. Dylan and Olivia are pulling and tugging and somehow running at the same time, and we're actually doing pretty good.

We're ahead of Derrick's cabin, since Danny fell the second they started going, and about six other cabins. One cabin is ahead of us, and two are almost beside us.

"Go!" Claire shrieks, flapping her arms as if that would make us go faster.

In the end, we come in third, with white ribbons to prove it. In the 'closing ceremonies' for the Special Olympics, we come in Silver out of the whole camp. I admire my shiny, silver medal and grin for pictures. And even though we didn't come in first, it's the most fun I've ever had.


	16. Chapter 16

I know. I suck.

Oh btw, this one's for Izzy since she got me off my ass and kept bugging me until I wrote:) oh and expect your Canada Care Package very soon, sweetie:)

* * *

The next day is the Colour War, which Olivia, Dylan and Claire are super excited about.

After breakfast, we all shuffle out to the amphitheatre again, this time to find out which teams we're on.

Landon's standing on the stage, wearing a yellow bandana tied around his tanned bicep. I notice a few of the other staff members wearing either yellow or red bandanas standing behind him.

"Ooh, I hope I'm on Landon's team," Olivia purrs. "That guy is so sexy."

Dylan pretends to be super interested in her shoelace, which she quickly bends down to tie, even though it was already tied.

Once everyone's seated, Landon explains the rules (which I ignore –hello, pretty girls are supposed to go by their own rules!) and announces the teams.

On the red team is Olivia, Dylan, Derrick, Josh, and a bunch of losers. On the yellow team, there's me, Claire, Todd –Claire's sixteen year old step brother-, and Danny Robbins.

The Colour War goes great, my team winning the majority of the challenges. But then there's the _Final Challenge_.

"The _Final Challenge_," Landon announces, somewhat darkly and very serious. Looking at all the campers around me, I see they're taking this just as serious.

"Why's everyone so somber?" I whisper to Claire.

"It's the _Final Challenge_, what makes you win the Colour War. Do you know how important winning is here?"

She turns back to face Landon, so I assume we're done talking.

"The _Final Challenge_," Landon repeats, "Is…"

Everyone is squirming at the suspense, and I find myself nervous along with them.

"TUG-O'-WAR!" He shouts into the microphone.

"Hell," Claire mutters. "I hate the tug-of-war."

"Why?" I ask. Seconds ago, Claire was pumped for this!

"It's over a giant mud hole. Do you know how hard that is to get out of your hair? Whatever you do, stand in the middle, but near the back. That way the losers in the front fall in and get muddy, and the strong people are at the back."

"Okay," I nod, worrying about my tresses.

The two teams line up on either side of a giant puddle of mud. Landon passes a long rope to his team, then pulls it towards us. Once everyone is gripping the rope, Landon heads back to his team and blows a whistle.

At first, I don't feel anything happening. Then slowly, my feet start to slide forward. "PULL!" someone at the front grunts.

I use all of my –very limited- strength to tug on the rope. After about fifteen minutes of back and forth, I stumble forwards, along with everyone else, and see that the front of my team are all lying in the mud.

While the other team cheers, my team sulks. But seeing Layne Abeley flopping around in the mud, trying to get out, makes me laugh.

Claire looks at me weird, since there are tears leaking from my eyes, but soon she joins in. Then from the celebratory side, I hear Dylan's signature giggle and Olivia's tinkling laugh.

Before we know it, the four of us are in hysterics, with everyone else looking on, trying to figure out what's so funny. And after a while, I don't remember what made us laugh in the first place.

Along with the ache in my abs from laughing too hard, something warm and fuzzy spreads through out my stomach. And I know that it's my body's way of letting me know I've finally found my soul sisters.

* * *

Dylan's team wins the Colour War, because they win the _Final Challenge_. Their team is outside, eating their winning pizza and ice cream, while Claire and I sit in the DH, eating rubbery hot dogs.

It's silent without Olivia speaking at rapid fire. But a good silence. Like, you know when you hang out with someone who you know so well that there's nothing left to say? I toy with the lanyard bracelet on my wrist, thinking about how lonely it's going to be back in Westchester.

"I don't want this summer to end," Claire sighs, as if reading my mind. "It went by way too fast. And LA is nice and everything, but this place is just home for me."

I nod. "I'm dreading leaving. It's going to be so boring back home."

"Oh well," Claire sighs again. "We'll _Skype_ every night, 'kay?"

"Okay," I grin.

The door opens and Olivia and Dylan walk in, each carrying two bowls of ice cream. "We felt bad for you _losers,_" Dylan grins teasingly. "So we brought you some ice cream."

"Thank you," Claire sings, taking a huge bite.

Dylan and Olivia sit down and stir their ice cream around uncomfortably. I can tell something happened that they're hiding.

"What?" Claire says, pausing her spoon inches away from her lips.

Dylan and Olivia exchange a look, then Dylan says "I know you don't want to hear this, but Josh is a man-whore, Claire. He's been hitting on Massie all summer, and I wouldn't be saying this if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. And then just now he was hitting on that girl, Aimee."

Claire slams her spoon into her bowl. "Okay, I know that you're jealous of me and Josh. You have been since he first asked me out. You don't need to make anything up, Dyl. You'll find a great guy soon. And you don't need to bring Massie into this."

"Claire," I say quietly, hoping not to be overheard by the other tables. "It's true. Josh has been the biggest perv to me all summer."

"I can't believe you guys," Claire huffs. "Livs, _you're _not in on their little 'joke', are you?"

"It's not a joke, C," Olivia's eyes are large and pleading for Claire to believe us. "You know I think that lying is bad for your soul, so I don't do it, and I'm telling the truth."

"Whatever," Claire's eyes are stormy, meaning she's seriously upset. "I have to go," she stands up and storms out of the DH.

"Hell," Dylan curses. "Josh has her wrapped around his finger."

"Well, what do we do?" Olivia asks, looking back and forth between me and Dylan.

"Nothing," Dylan sighs. "He's not going to change his ways and she's not going to notice them."

"That's stupid," Olivia crosses her arms.

"That's life," Dylan rolls her eyes. "C'mon, we should go apologize to Claire."

"I'm not going to lie and tell her he didn't do anything," Olivia says.

"No," I say and follow them out the door. "We'll just apologize for upsetting her. We don't deny anything."

Back at the cabin, Claire's sitting on her bed, doodling on her bare knee in purple Sharpie.

"Hey," she says without looking up.

"We're sorry we hurt your feelings, Claire," Olivia's lower lip trembles. "Really, really sorry."

"Don't cry," Claire says. "I'm not mad or anything. But you guys know how much I love Josh. And yeah, I can see how you'd get jealous that I hang with him so much, but you should know that even Josh can't break our bond of friendship."

"We know," Olivia plops her small butt beside Claire. "But sometimes we just think you could be with someone…better for you, you know?"

Claire shakes her head. "Josh is totally my soul mate! And I love you guys even more than I love him, but I love him a lot, so please just stop…being poos."

"Poos…?" Dylan snickers. "Are you serious, C? You can't think of a better word to describe us?"

Then we're all in hysterics. I swipe tears from my eyes, ignoring the fact that my mascara will be streaked down my face.

"I love you guys," Olivia grins.

"Likewise," Dylan says, still giggling at Claire. "C'mon guys, we should go if we want any free time."

So we walk out, arm in arm, our little spat forgotten.


	17. Chapter 17

So this is the last chapter:/ I'll start working on the epilogue tonight and post it as soon as I'm done!

Btw, who's majorly excited for Pretty Little Liars to be a TV show? *raises hand*

And btw part two, I'm just going to call the sequel 'Sleep Away: The Sequel' or 'Sleep Away II', since I can't think of anything else.

Oh and btw part three, LET'S WIN THE STANLEY CUP CHICAGOOOOO!

Oh right, btw part four, who's your favourite Clique character **not **mentioned in this story?:)

* * *

According to the girls, the camp play and Camp Idol are a total waste of time. Plus, it's raining and thundering and lightning…ing –what's the verb you use when you say there's lighting?- so we all feel like staying in.

I'm wrapped in my duvet, reading _Madame Bovary _(my favourite. Ever.) when there's an incredibly loud pounding on the door.

Dylan, who's playing Go Fish with Claire on her bed, looks up in alarm. "Think we're in trouble?"

"We can't be," Olivia walks over to one of the windows and tries to peek out from behind the closed curtains. "It's the boys," She grins. "And Danny came!"

"Not to be mean or anything, Livs, but you've been trying all summer and he hasn't paid the slightest amount of attention to you. He's probably gay," I giggle.

"Don't let them in yet!" Claire shrieks and bolts from Dylan's bed. "Do you know how bad we look?"

While Olivia and Claire rush to the bathroom to apply make up, get out of their grungy sweats and attempt to do _something _with their hair, I ease myself off of my top bunk, not caring whether or not Derrick sees me in my pajamas and messy bun.

"Not off to beautify yourself?" I ask Dylan, who's lounging on her bed with a magazine.

"Nah, it's not like the guy I like is here," She smiles softly. "Besides, I'm _always _beautiful!"

I laugh as I throw open the door. The weather's only gotten uglier. "Hey!" I grin at my soaking wet boyfriend. His hair's dripping onto his face and his umbrella is clearly broken.

"Took you long enough to open the door," Todd –Claire's brother who's a year older than us- grumbles.

"Ew, Todd came?" Claire wrinkles her nose. "Then we're leaving," she grabs a rain jacket and Josh's hand and is out the door.

Fine with me, I did not want Josh here. "So you guys skipped the play and whatever too?"

Derrick nods, then shakes his shaggy blonde hair, sending water droplets all over anyone near him. "It's totally lame. Same play every year, and we don't wanna sit through two hours of campers attempting to sing. Crap, I forgot my iPod. Be right back." He disappears out the door into the rain.

"Hey, Danny," Olivia grins. "Wanna come play poker with me?"

"No thanks," he mumbles.

"We don't have to play poker," Olivia shuffles the cards nervously. "You can choose a different game."

"Um, no, I think I'll just go back to my cabin. See you later," he walks out the door.

Dylan and I glance at Olivia, who's putting the cards back in their box slowly. She's definitely bummed, even if she doesn't seem it. I'd have to talk to her after the boys left.

"What's his deal?" Dylan crosses her thin arms over her chest.

"Isn't it obvious?" Todd snorts. "He's in love with Claire. He has been since we were like eight. But he was too shy to say anything and then Josh asked her out."

"Excuse me," Olivia stands up and stalks to the bathroom, where I hear one of the stall doors slam.

"Way to go," Dylan glares at Todd. "You're such a ginger." She follows Olivia into the bathroom.

"Hey! You have red hair too!" Todd shouts after her. "Did I say something?" he turns to me.

"Well," I glance around and lower my voice. "Promise not to say _anything _to _anyone_?"

"Promise," he nods automatically.

"Super secret pinky promise?" I hold out my littlest finger.

He rolls his eyes but wraps his pinky around mine. "Okay, what is it?

"Olivia likes Danny. And since he likes Claire, I'm guessing she's not going to be in the best mood."

"Why does everyone like Danny? He's so…lame," he sighs. "Think I should go apologize to Olivia?"

"Just apologize for upsetting her; that way she doesn't know you know she likes Danny."

"Hey," Derrick returns. "Sorry I left you alone with Lyons!"

I open my mouth to reply when the PA system comes on, announcing it's time for lunch. I didn't spend any time with Derrick. The summer's over in like three days, and then I won't be able to see him everyday.

* * *

On Do Nothing Day, I literally do nothing. It's still raining, so I'm huddled up in my comforter with Derrick, reading and giving each other Sharpie tattoos.

Dylan's sprawled out on her bed; the only thing visible is her red curls sticking out of her duvet. It's three o'clock. And she's still asleep. Claire's off with Josh somewhere and Olivia is lying on her bed, painting each finger and toe a different colour.

And even though all I did was cuddle with Derrick, it was one of the best days at camp

* * *

Finally the day I've been waiting for all summer comes. The Camp Social. As excited as I am (which is very), I feel bummed for two reasons. One, it's the day before the last day of camp. That means I have to dig out my suitcase so I can pack tomorrow. And two, I feel sort of bad that Skye's not here and I'm having so much fun.

I know Dylan's feeling like that too, because every now and then I catch her toying with the friendship bracelet we made Skye that I'm going to bring back to Westchester for her.

"Ugh, I wish we were allowed electric styling tools!" Olivia complains. Her blonde hair is up in rollers, in stead of using a curling iron. Personally, I think her hair will look ten times better, because rather than having tight spiral curls, she'll have gorgeous loose waves. But does she believe me? Of course not!

"I know," Claire agrees. She looks ah-mazing in a white cap sleeved dress that makes her look incredibly tanned. She applies three coats of mascara and flutters her lashes for her reflection in the mirror.

"You guys look great already," Dylan waltzes out of the bathroom in her rose coloured silk strapless dress. It just hits her knees, and I know Landon will love her in it. She sprays her neck with Coco Chanel twice and crouches under her bed to find her shoes.

"I cannot believe you're going without a date," Claire says, not looking away from her reflection.

"Seriously, Dyl, that's like social suicide!" Olivia chimes in. Her light green one-shouldered dress and black heels make her look older than she usually does. "Even I got a date," she adds and glances uneasily at Claire.

Danny had agreed to go to the dance with her (as _friends_, he kept repeating), but Olivia felt weird since she knew he liked Claire. Sadly, poor Olivia just couldn't get away from her crush on him.

Dylan shrugs and slips on her white peep-toe heels. "None of the campers really interest me. Hey, Mass, you look amazing," she changes the subject.

Olivia and Claire turn to look at me too and smile. "You seriously do," Claire grins. I twirl for them, wearing a lilac boatneck dress and white strappy heels. I have to admit, I do look amazing!

We take off our heels to walk through the grass to the DH, which has had all the tables and chairs removed. Instead, there's twinkly white lights strung throughout the room, a disco ball and the summer's hottest music.

Everyone looks pretty great (yes, even that bitch Layne Abeley!). Slowly people trickle into the middle of the room and start dancing and drinking punch or gossiping in the corners. It's nothing like a Westchester party. But it's better.

After four and a half hours of dancing with the girls and Derrick, Landon taps a microphone to get our attention. As hot as he usually looks, he looks ten times more gorgeous in his suit. I smile to myself, noticing his tie is a rose colour, matching Dylan's dress _exactly. _

"So now, as this is our last dance of the night, I'm letting you all dance with whoever you want, whether it's a camper or a counselor." Then he walks into the throng of people to find Dylan.

"May I have this dance, milady?" Derrick bows playfully.

"Of course," I say and wrap my arms around his neck.

The song was 12:51 by The Strokes, which is an old favourite of mine. Looking around, I see Claire and Josh dancing, their bodies pressed closer together than I thought possible. As they sway to the beat of the song, I notice Claire's eyes are closed and her head's on his shoulder, but Josh is silently checking out Layne Abeley. I hate him so much. And he doesn't deserve someone as sweet as Claire.

Then there's Olivia and Danny. Olivia's usually steady hands are shaking slightly as her arms wrap around his neck. It kills me that she likes him so much but he likes Claire. But Danny's a sweet guy, and I feel bad for him that Claire's too busy with Josh to even acknowledge him most of the time. He keeps glancing at her dancing with Josh, instead of looking at Olivia.

And finally, I find Landon and Dylan (and his tie really does match her dress). Her thin arms are wrapped loosely around his neck, while she tries to act casual. But Landon's arms are locked tightly around her tiny waist, not caring if anyone notices that that's a little too close for a counselor and a camper. Dylan's eyes never leave his, and even from a distance I can tell how much she's in love with him.

"Massie?" Derrick mumbles.

"Mmm?" I reply, lost in thoughts.

Really, they're all slightly flawed in their so called 'perfect' relationships. Olivia likes Danny, but he loves Claire. Claire loves Josh, but he's a whore and checks out anything in a skirt. Dylan and Landon are the only couple who are actually in love, but they can't do anything about it. They can't just be free and in love.

"_Massie," _Derrick says again.

"Sorry," I say sheepishly. "What were you saying?"

"I love you."


	18. Epilogue

So the end of Sleep Away is here. I'm kind of sad, actually. But hey, the sequel will be up in no time:) And thank you so much to all of you reviewers, especially those who didn't stop reviewing even when I didn't update. All of you and your reviews actually mean a lot to me!

* * *

"So this summer turned out pretty well."

"Oh, deffs! Even if we had some trouble at the beginning!"

"And even if Skye…you know. But she'll be okay."

"For sure! You know, this turned out to be the best summer of my life."

The four of us –Claire, Olivia, Dylan and me- are sitting on our suitcases on the porch. This morning was depressing. After one last breakfast, we packed out bags, cleaned the cabin and took one last picture of the four of us in front of the cabin. We'd also written our names in Sharpie on one of the walls, just so we'd be a part of Camp Wood Lake forever.

A big SUV pulls up in the graveled parking lot nearest our cabin. It honks twice. "That's my ride," Olivia jumps up. "Let's hope I don't have to wait long in the airport!"

"Got your Advil?" Dylan asks like a concerned parent. "The flight all the way to Vancouver's a long one."

"Yup, I got everything!" Olivia smiles, but it quickly fades. "Bye ladies," she opens her arms and the three of us squish into them. "Talk soon, 'kay?"

"'Kay," we mumble. I give her one last squeeze. "See you during Winter Break?"

"Of course," she blows us all a kiss. "Au revior!"

The black SUV disappears and then it's the three of us. "Did you say goodbye to Josh…?" Dylan asks Claire.

"Yeah," Claire nods. "I dunno, he seemed kinda…weird. Maybe 'cause it's the end of summer and we won't get to see each other everyday."

Dylan and I nod along, even though we both know it's not true. I glance around the rolling green hills of the camp, and notice we're some of the last people here.

A limo rolls into the parking lot and a driver steps out. "Miss Lyons?" he calls out.

"Gotta go," Claire hugs us both and grabs her bags. "HEY TODD! GET OVER HERE WE'RE LEAVING!"

The handsome redhead waves to us before getting into the waiting limo. Claire shoves her bags in the trunk and turns back to us. "I'll call you guys once my plane lands in Cali! Bye! I love you!"

"Love you too!" Dylan and I shout back.

"This was a great summer," Dylan slips on her gold aviators.

"Couldn't agree more," I smile as I see Derrick dragging his suitcases towards us.

"When are you leaving?" Dylan asks, glancing at her phone.

"Whenever my driver gets here. Should be pretty soon. You?"

"I'll probably stick around a while…" she glances at the Big House. Then she lowers her voice to a whisper, "Landon's actually driving me back to DC. He's meeting my mom."

"Wow," I say. "That's a big thing. You sure you're serious about him?"

She nods and smiles softly. "I love him, Mass. And I know that we can't really be together at camp, but we have the other ten months of the year to be in love."

"Hey, Massie," Derrick smiles as he reaches our cabin. "Hey, Dyl."

"'Sup, Harrington?" Dylan stands up and stretches. "I'll leave you two love birds alone." She gives me a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Call me, 'kay? Bye Derrick! See you in December!"

Then she grabs her bags and sashays in the direction of the Big House.

"Then there was two," Derricks arms wrap around my waist. "So how about the first weekend after school starts you come to Manhattan to meet my family? I'll come to Westchester the weekend after that to meet yours."

"Sounds like a plan," I grin. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too! But hey, we'll still talk every night. I promise."

"If there's one night you don't call me, I will come to Manhattan and kick your ass," I joke. But it's true…sort of. I don't know what I'll do if I don't get to hear Derrick's voice every day!

My familiar Range Rover pulls into a parking spot. Isaac waves to me out the window. "There's my ride," I say to Derrick. He leans down and kisses me.

"See you soon?" He squeezes my hand.

"Very," I squeeze his hand back. "I love you."

"I love you too!"

I grab my bags and walk to my car. It feels like forever since I've sat on its smooth leather seats, or inhaled its new-purse smell. I wave to Derrick before climbing into the back and stretching out on the black leather seats.

"I have to say," Isaac says as we pull out of the parking lot. "I've sort of missed driving you around."

"How could you not miss something this cute?" I murmur and close my eyes.

"Good summer?" he asks.

"Ah-mazing."

"Make any friends?"

"A few."

"Like that boy?"

I smile to myself. "You'll meet him in a few weeks. He's coming down to Westchester for the weekend."

"Well I hope you made more friends than just him," Isaac gives me a knowing look in the mirror then averts his eyes back to the road.

"I guess you could call them friends," I smile again. Claire, Dylan, Olivia and Skye are sisters to me. I mentally counted down the days until Winter Break when I could see them all again.

"So it sounds like it was a pretty great summer."

"Yeah," I grin and take out my phone to text the girls. It's only been like fifteen minutes but I miss them incredibly.

"Do you want to go back next year?"

"Obviously," I giggle. "And mom and dad will have to say yes, since they sent me here in the first place! But I think I'm going to take a nap now, if you don't mind."

Isaac laughs and flips the privacy panel switch. As the glass portion slowly rises, I stretch out on the leather seats.

It really was a great summer. A fabulous one, even. I smile softly as a text appears in my inbox from Derrick. A group text from Dylan, Claire and Olivia appears shortly after that.

This summer may have been ah-mazing, but I have a feeling next summer will be even better.


End file.
